President Michel Suleiman was adamant in holding further consultations with Lebanon's bickering leaders to ensure their participation in a national dialogue session as a first step towards ending the country's political crisis, sources said Monday.

But the sources told An Nahar daily that Suleiman wasn't very optimistic in his ability to convince the rival parties in reaching a deal that would prevent the country from sliding into further security and political tension.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour will be part of the Arab League delegation, which will visit the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in a show of support for the territory in the face of Israeli air strikes, As Safir daily reported Monday.

“The purpose of the visit is to deliver a message of solidarity and support to the Palestinian people. It is the least we can do to confront the Israeli aggression,” Mansour told the daily.

Speaker Nabih Berri snapped back at accusations by the March 14 opposition alliance that he was seeking to push it into the “trap” of attending parliamentary sessions despite vows by the coalition to boycott legislative activity.

“What is the crime that Nabih Berri committed and what is the trap that he set for the opposition forces?” the speaker wondered in remarks carried by several local newspapers on Monday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said on Monday that he would not personally make contacts with March 8 majority and opposition members as part of a PSP initiative to resolve the country's political crisis.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Jumblat confirmed that the PSP and his National Struggle Front bloc would launch an initiative to lure back the March 14 opposition alliance to the national dialogue table and seek the formation of a national salvation government.

One person was killed and four others were wounded in a tragic traffic accident on the Antelias highway on Sunday evening, state-run National News Agency reported.

A car bumped into several vehicles before crashing into a fish shop, NNA said.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Sunday stressed that his party “will remain the spearhead” in defending the values of the March 14 camp, insisting that “the army must extend its authority over the 10,452 square kilometers."

“The president (Michel Suleiman) knows the sacrifices of each one of us and Speaker (Nabih) Berri embraced (slain industry minister) Pierre (Gemayel) and cooperated with him and continued with the same admiration towards (MP) Sami (Gemayel) and we salute him. We also thank PM (Najib) Miqati,” said Gemayel in a speech commemorating the sixth anniversary of the assassination of his son, Pierre.

The March 14 forces on Sunday achieved victory in the Pharmacists Order elections and won two seats in the by-election of the Beirut Bar Association.

“March 14 candidate Rabih Hassouna has been elected as the head of the Pharmacists Order,” Future TV reported.

Independence Movement leader Michel Mouawad has stressed that the agenda of the March 14 forces is “Muslim-Christian partnership in the face of extremism in all religions.”

“Martyrs are the rock upon which we will build our homeland Lebanon and the forces of hell will not be able to defeat us,” Mouawad said in a speech at the first ever rally to be held by the Independence Movement in Australia's Sydney.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi attended on Sunday the enthronement of the new Coptic pope in Cairo ahead of the Nov. 24 ceremony that would officially appoint him as a new cardinal in the Catholic church.

The enthronement of Bishop Tawadros was held at Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral.

March 14 opposition figures are holding intense consultations to avoid “falling in the trap” of Speaker Nabih Berri who has called for a parliamentary session on Tuesday to hear a speech by the Armenian president, sources told An Nahar daily.

The March 14 alliance boycotted all parliamentary activity following the Oct. 19 assassination of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief, Wissam al-Hasan, in a car bomb explosion in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.