Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, part of an Arab delegation appearing before the council, said the U.S.-French draft would be impossible to enforce in its current form. He said it must call for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and the strengthening of U.N. peacekeepers already deployed in the region.

"We draw the attention of our august council to the repercussions of adopting a non-enforceable resolution that would further complicate the situation on the ground and have grave ramifications for Lebanon, Arab countries and all the countries of the region," Al Thani said.

Al Thani's delegation, which also included the chief of the Arab League and the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, had arrived in New York just before the council session bearing Lebanon's objections to the resolution. They hoped to persuade the council to include several of Lebanon's demands in the resolution.

They argue that the draft must support a seven-point plan adopted by the Lebanese Cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers.

It includes an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire based on Israel's withdrawal behind the U.N.-drawn boundary with Lebanon known as the Blue Line, commitments to release Lebanese and Israeli prisoners and put the disputed Chebaa Farms area on the Lebanon- Syria-Israeli border under U.N. jurisdiction, extending Lebanese government authority throughout the country, beefing up the U.N. international force in southern Lebanon, and providing international help to rebuild Lebanon.

"We are all here to find a way out," said Tarek Mitri, sent to the U.N. as a special envoy by Lebanon's Council of Ministers. "The proposal of our government ... should be looked at as a viable option. It allows the true effective cessation of hostilities, it leads to a durable ceaseafire."

After weeks of negotiation, the United States and France circulated the draft on Saturday that called for a "full cessation of hostilities" ¡ª in particular that Hezbollah stop all attacks, and that Israel end all offensive operations.

That distinction drew criticism from Lebanon, which called it a recipe for continuing violence. The Lebanese also protested that the resolution mentioned nothing about a timetable for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah controlled. Thousands of Israeli troops have moved into the area since the fighting began.

Washington and Paris could introduce a new draft late in the day or on Wednesday. Because of Security Council rules, 24 hours must pass before a resolution can be voted on. That means any vote probably won't occur until Thursday at the earliest.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman said any resolution must not create a void in south Lebanon that Hezbollah could fill. He also sought a robust international force to back Lebanese troops in the area.

"We want a cease-fire, but a cease-fire that sows the seeds of future peace, not a future conflict," said Gillerman.

He later told reporters that Israel would withdraw from Lebanon "the minute there is a political solution and the minute there is a viable force in place."

That presents a tricky problem for the Security Council. On the one hand, Lebanon wants the U.N. force now in Lebanon to be strengthened, while Gillerman was clear that the U.N. force won't do because it has proven after 28 years in the region that it is ineffective.

As part of efforts to accommodate Lebanon, the U.S. and France are considering several proposals, including that the resolution should support Lebanon's offer Monday to deploy 15,000 troops to monitor a buffer zone in the south.