Premier Najib Miqati hoped on Tuesday that Lebanese political parties from across the political spectrum would approve President Michel Suleiman’s invitation for a National Dialogue next month despite skepticism on the participation of the March 14 opposition coalition.

“We welcome the invitation for dialogue which is our request,” Miqati told As Safir newspaper. “We hope that our meeting on a single table would lead to the positive results that fall in the interest of all Lebanese without any exception.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Monday reassured that no Lebanese expats were hurt in the deadly blaze that erupted at the Villagio mall in the Qatari capital Doha.

The minister said that Lebanese Ambassador to Qatar Hassan Saad informed him of the good news.

The Phalange Party renewed on Monday its leader Amin Gemayel’s demand to “positively” approach President Michel Suleiman’s call to resume the national dialogue in order to prevent Lebanon “from being dragged in the disputes of its neighbors.”

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “Resuming the national dialogue will pave the way to ending the political, security, and regional aspects of Lebanon’s crisis.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat demanded on Monday that the Lebanese pilgrims who were kidnapped in Syria on Tuesday be returned to Lebanon, urging all sides to “exercise restraint.”

He warned in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine “against falling for the Syrian regime’s traps” should any of the supporters of the victims seek revenge against the abduction.

Electricite du Liban’s contract employees blocked on Monday the highway near the headquarters of the company in Mar Mikhael and set garbage containers on fire, causing bumper-to-bumper traffic.

TV footage showed scores of employees standing in the middle of the highway, bringing traffic to a complete halt.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati issued a decree on Monday temporarily forbidding pilgrims from traveling by land to holy sites outside of Lebanon.

The decision was made at the behest of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council and the head of the Hajj and Omra affairs authority.

President Michel Suleiman invited the Lebanese foes for a national dialogue session on June 11 at the Baabda Palace, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

The session is scheduled to kick off at 11:00 a.m.

Ex-Premier Saad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement held the Assad regime on Monday responsible for the “terrorist action” that left at least 108 people, nearly half of them children, dead in the Syrian town of Houla.

Al-Mustaqbal condemned “the horrific crime” and held “the regime responsible for the terrorist action that could be described as a crime against humanity.”

Speaker Nabih Berri revealed that he had obtained the names of those who are plotting to assassinate him, As Safir newspaper reported on Monday.

“I know where they are holding their meetings and what they are plotting,” Berri told senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed.

The March 14-led opposition reiterated on Monday its rejection to resume the national dialogue under the current government and said its participation was conditioned on the discussion of Hizbullah’s arms.

Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea stressed during an interview with L'Orient Le Jour that his allies in the March 14 forces voiced their support to the resumption of the national dialogue.