JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that Lebanon's decision to deploy 15,000 Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon was an "interesting step" which would be reviewed.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is surrounded by bodyguards during a visit to the northern command near the northern city of Safed, August 7, 2006. [Reuters]

"I heard about the Lebanese government decision yesterday to deploy 15,000 Lebanese Army soldiers," Olmert said.

"This decision is an interesting step which we have to study and examine and look at all the implications -- to see to what degree it is practical and in what timeframe."

Olmert told a news conference that any Lebanese Army deployment in the south should be accompanied by a strong international force made up of combat units and that Hizbollah must be disarmed.

He said his security cabinet would convene on Wednesday to discuss the possible expansion of Israel's military operations in southern Lebanon, calling the cessation of Hizbollah rocket attacks a key goal.

Some 10,000 Israeli troops are battling Hizbollah fighters in the area.

Arab nations will press the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to demand an immediate Israeli pullout from south Lebanon to make way for the Lebanese army in any resolution to end Israel's four-week-old war with Hizbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz has ordered the army to prepare for a possible move to the Litani River, some 20 km (12 miles) inside Lebanon, to push back Hizbollah rocket launchers.

Olmert said Israel was waiting for a final draft of a U.N. resolution before taking a stand on the diplomatic efforts.

"The faster we can leave south Lebanon, the happier we will be," he said.