SAUDI ARABIA - July 23 - Saudis Urge US To Back Lebanon Ceasefire.

The kingdom calls on the US to back an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon as the first step towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict as State Sec Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, prepared for her talks in Israel on Monday. But the US shows little sign of reacting to the international pressure that is mounting on its ally Israel. Senior Bush administration officials assured Israel of continued US political and military support for its attacks on Lebanon and the Hizbullah militia, including munitions "as required". Inspecting south Beirut, stronghold of the Hizbullah militia most targeted by air strikes, Jan Egeland, UN emergency relief co-ordinator, accused Israel of violating humanitarian law. Egeland said: This is destruction of block after block of mainly residential areas. I would say it seeto be an excessive use of force in an area with so many citizens". While rejecting mounting calls for an immediate ceasefire that would allow Hizbullah to keep its rockets trained on Israel, the US said it was willing to discuss the deployment of a multinational force in southern Lebanon, possibly led by NATO but without US ground troops. Israel also indicated it could accept such a force. The force would help the Lebanese government and its weak national army establish control over its own territory, displacing the Shi'ite militia in the south. Without Hizbullah's agreement, however, diplomats saw little prospect of early deployment, leading to suspicions that Rice would give Israel the green light to continue its offensive, despite mounting civilian casualties. Diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting intensified in Israel and Washington on the 12th day of the war. More Hizbullah rockets hit northern Israel, killing two civilians. Israeli forces pounded Lebanon, killing eight civilians, and captured one border village in heavy fighting. Israeli troops seized two Hizbullah guerrillas during fighting in southern Lebanon, the army said on July 23, believed to be the first prisoners taken in Lebanon during the conflict. Prince Saud al-Faisal, Saudi FM, and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, secretary of the Saudi national security council, met Pres Bush and Rice shortly before her departure. Prince Saud, who brought Bush a letter from King Abdullah outlining the proposals, said he found Bush "very conscious of the destruction and the bloodshed that the Lebanese are suffering, and his anxiety to see a cessation of hostilities". A Saudi official told the FT they had discussed Saudi proposals for a comprehensive settlement that would ultimately include the disarmament of Hizbullah according to UN Security Council resolution 1559. "But there won't be anything without a ceasefire", he said. Italy is to host an international conference on Lebanon on Wednesday but the official said he could not confirm Saudi participation. Saudi diplomatic support is crucial to the US as it seeks to muster Arab support to put pressure on Hizbullah and Syria. The Saudi proposals include a multinational force, possibly led by France and composed mainly of NATO forces. Some 370 Lebanese, mostly civilians, have died since the crisis erupted on July 12 when Hizbullah abducted two Israeli soldiers. In Israel, 17 civilians have been killed by rocket fire while 20 soldiers have died. Kim Howells, the UK foreign office minister who was in Israel after visiting Lebanon, told Sky News: The destruction of the infrastructure, the death of so many children and so many people. These haven't been surgical strikes".