Israel: Lebanon's Offer 'Interesting'

(CBS/AP)  Lebanon's offer to deploy 15,000 troops along the border with Israel is "interesting" and worthy of further consideration, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday.

But he said the key to success was disarming Hezbollah, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. To do that, he said, the Lebanese Army would need to be joined by a strong international force.

Israel has long demanded a deployment of Lebanese forces, along with the disarming of Hezbollah guerrillas. Those guerrillas Tuesday launched more than 110 rockets into Israel Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Israel's foreign minister dismissed a tearful address by Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Saniora, saying that it's time for leadership by his government.

In other developments:

Hezbollah guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and wounded seven others in fighting in south Lebanon, the army said Tuesday.

Israel will press ahead with its war on Hezbollah and is poised to occupy more areas of south Lebanon from which rockets are fired, Israel's defense minister said Tuesday. "I have instructed the army commanders to prepare for an operation to control all the launching sites," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said. "The military cannot be restricted by diplomatic action that stagnates at times."

The Israeli government is offering to help some 17,000 Israelis to leave border towns for several days. In making the announcement, Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon avoided the word "evacuation," saying instead that the government will pay for the stay of those leaving the border area for several days of recuperation.

It appeared Israeli leaders were reluctant to embrace Lebanon's offer more strongly because of concern it might be a ploy to get Israeli troops out of south Lebanon, without removing Hezbollah first.

Israel flatly rejects Lebanon's demand for a withdrawal at the beginning of a cease-fire. Olmert says Israeli troops will leave when an international force is fully in place — and that could take weeks.

Israel's response to the Lebanese offer — including an expected Cabinet decision on Wednesday on whether to stage a massive new ground incursion — will depend on Lebanon's willingness to back its offer with action on the ground, Asaf Shariv, Olmert's chief spokesman, told The Associated Press.

"Basically in the Middle East you never (decide) based on talking. We should see actions, preparing something," he said. "Let's see what happens on the ground."

Israel appeared also to be concerned that the Lebanese army may not be strong enough on its own to prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel.

Olmert on Tuesday reiterated Israel's desire to see Lebanese troops deployed along the border with Israel, but backed by a strong multinational force.

"It looks interesting and we will examine it closely," Olmert said of the Lebanese offer.

"We said from the outset, naturally we would like to see Lebanese army ... combined with strong military support that will come from other countries" in south Lebanon, Olmert added.

He reiterated that Israel has no intention of reoccupying south Lebanon. "The faster we leave south Lebanon, the happier we will be, once we have achieved our goals," he said.

Currently, more than 10,000 Israeli soldiers are fighting several hundred Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon. Israel is trying to push back the guerrillas who have fired thousands of rockets at northern Israel.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to decide whether to approve an army plan for pushing even deeper into Lebanon, until the Litani River, about 18 miles from the border.

The international community has to make a rapid decision about the makeup and responsibilities of a multinational force, Olmert said, adding that it should include combat troops.

Ground fighting continued to rage in villages and strategic ridges near the Israeli border, including sites used by Hezbollah for rocket barrages that have reached deep into Israel.

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