Speaking at the UN Security Council open debate, Lebanese Special Envoy Tarek Mitri said the draft resolution before the Council not only falls short of meeting many of Lebanon's legitimate requests, but also may fail to bring about the results that the international community hopes it would achieve.

The envoy, who is also Lebanon's acting foreign minister, reiterated his country's demand for an immediate cease-fire, and noted that though the draft resolution had laid out some principles Lebanon affirms by calling for a "cessation of hostilities," efforts are still needed to clarify on some of the issues.

The draft resolution calls for cessation of attacks by Hezbollah, and for Israel to stop all "offensive actions," the envoy said, but the Jewish nation has always maintained all its actions have been nothing but "defensive."

"In this respect, the resolution leaves Lebanon vulnerable to the whims of Israel, he said. "How could a resolution provide for a cessation of hostilities, and then in fact carry the great risk of continued violence and destruction?"

He noted that Israel called its crimes against civilians as "mistakes," and stressed that the pattern of attacks during Israeli offensive in Lebanon indicated these failures cannot be explained or dismissed as mere accidents, rather the extent of the pattern and their serious consequence indicated the commission of war crimes.

The Lebanese envoy demanded that Israel start withdrawing immediately from Lebanese territory with any delay, and that the Lebanese armed forces, with the assistance of UN forces, should be the only forces deployed across Lebanon, including the areas between the Blue Line and the Litani River.

He pledged Lebanese government's readiness to deploy a force of 150,000 in the south as the Israeli troops withdraw behind the Blue Line.

He also expressed Lebanon's reservation with draft resolution for its failure to guarantee international involvement in resolving the Sheba'a Farm issue, a necessity for a long-term political settlement.

Mitri urged the international community to ensure Lebanon's territorial integrity so that its ground, sea and air will be respected by Israel, and asked for sustained support and solidarity from the international community.

A three-member Arab League delegation attended Tuesday's debate. The team is expected to urge the 15-nation Council to amend the U.S.-French draft resolution aimed at a truce in the four-week conflict.

But Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman said the critical test faced by the council was not whether it could adopt a resolution but whether the council and international community can adopt a course of action which will end the threat that Hezbollah and its sponsors pose to Israel and Lebanon, adding that the issue in this crisis is "not territory but terror."