UN peacekeeping chief in Lebanon French Major General Alain Pelligrini said on Thursday that should diplomatic efforts fail to stop Israeli flights over Lebanon, force might be considered in the future.

His comments came as the son of slain former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri urged French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday to help stop the Israel Air Force's overflights.

Pellegrini calledd the overflights "violations [of UN resolution 1701] because you have a foreign jet crossing first the Blue Line and entering the national Lebanese airspace."

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"If the diplomatic means should not be enough, maybe it could be considered other ways, we never know," he added.

When asked if that meant in the future UN troops might consider preventing the overflights by force, Pellegrini replied, "it could be. It could be."

"l think that it could be considered, and it will depend on new rules of engagement drafted and decided [at UN headquarters]," he said.

Pellegrini added that France has deployed anti-aircraft missiles in southern Lebanon, but at the moment the missiles could only be used for self-defense to protect French soldiers serving in the UN force.

Pelligrini said the Israeli air violations are "our major concern" even though the number has diminished slightly. Every violation is immediately reported to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and objections are made to Israel.

UN spokeman Stephane Dujarric told Haaretz that the United Nations would attempt to address any violations of air space through diplomatic channels before considering use of force.

"The issue of Israeli air violations of the blue line is of concern to the United Nations, but those concerns will be addressed first and foremost through diplomatic channels," he said.

With regard to the French force's anti-aircraft batteries, Dujarric said, "the rules of engagement allow these weapons to be used only in self-defense, in a case a position is under imminent attack by air, no matter who attacks."

Sa'ad Hariri asks Chirac for help
On Thursday, prominent Lebanese politician Sa'ad Hariri met French President Jacques Chirac and urged him to help prevent Israel from sending jets into Lebanese airspace.

Hariri also thanked Chirac for his recent offer to organize an international donor conference on economic reconstruction in Lebanon. The conference is to be held in Paris in January.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Chirac, Hariri said he asked the French leader to "intervene with the Israelis" to call for an end to the overflights, which he called "violations of Lebanese airspace."

Hariri said the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the cease-fire agreement that brought an end to 34 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah militant group, "is very clear" on the matter of the overflights.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee earlier this week that commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon had warned they might have to open fire if IAF warplanes continue their overflights.

Peretz said that nevertheless, Israel would continue to patrol the skies over Lebanon as long as UN Resolution 1701 remained unfulfilled. He said such operations were critical for the country's security, especially as the abducted IDF soldiers remain in Hezbollah custody and the transfer of arms from Syria to Lebanon continue.

Gillerman: Israel' border with Lebanon stabilizedIsrael's ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council Thursday that Israel's border with Lebanon has stabilized and Beirut is in control of its territory following the withdrawal of IDF troops.

UN ceasefire resolution 1701 called for the Israeli military pullout of Lebanon ending the conflict between Israel and Shiite Hezbollah militants on August 14. Beirut also deployed thousands of troops to southern Lebanon as part of the ceasefire.

"Today, there is one, unequivocal address in Lebanon - and it is the government of Lebanon," Gillerman told the 15-nation council, which convened to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

"Success, however, cannot be prematurely declared," he said.

Gillerman said weapons continued to be smuggled between Lebanon and Syria as Hezbollah militants were rearming. He said the smuggling was a violation of Resolution 1701, which placed southern Lebanon under an arms embargo.

Report: Hezbollah fired cluster bombs
Hezbollah fired cluster rockets into civilian areas of northern Israel during the recent war, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday.

Israel has itself been condemned by the New York-based group and other campaigners for its use of cluster bombs during the 34-day conflict.

Human Rights Watch said it had been told by Israeli police of more than 100 documented cases of cluster rocket strikes.

Hezbollah made no immediate comment.

"We are disturbed to discover that not only Israel but also Hezbollah used cluster munitions in their recent conflict, at a time when many countries are turning away from this kind of weapon precisely because of its impact on civilians," said Steve Goose of Human Right Watch in the report.

Cluster bombs burst into bomblets that spread out over a wide area near the ground. Many bombs do not immediately explode, becoming land mines that can kill or maim humans well after the conflict.

The use of such bombs near civilian populations is forbidden by international humanitarian law.

Israel denies using the weapons illegally and has accused Hezbollah of firing rockets at Israeli civilians from towns and villages, using civilians as human shields.

A recent report by land mine activists identified 770 sites hit by cluster bombs in southern Lebanon before the cease-fire began on August 14.

Human Rights Watch said the cluster munitions used by Hezbollah appeared to be Chinese-made 122 mm rockets, each one carrying 39 submunitions capable of shooting out hundreds of ball bearings.