UN envoys in Israel; see truce in the balance

BEIRUT, Aug 21 (Reuters) United Nations envoys will meet Israeli officials today after expressing fears that a week-long truce between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas might unravel, leading to further bloodshed.

Terje Roed-Larsen and Vijay Nambiar will hold talks in Jerusalem following their weekend visit to Beirut, where they urged both sides in the recent 34-day war to show restraint.

''We are at the tilting edge still,'' Roed-Larsen warned at the end of the visit. ''This can easily start sliding again and lead us quickly into the abyss of violence and bloodshed.'' The UN is trying to assemble a 15,000-strong international force in southern Lebanon, to keep the peace alongside a similar sized Lebanese contingent which is gradually being unfolded.

The New York-based body already has 2,000 soldiers in the area and, under the terms of Security Council resolution 1701 which ended the war, has committed itself to getting another 3,500 there by September. 2.

But so far, few countries have made significant commitments. Some have complained that the rules of engagement under which their soldiers would operate are ill-defined.

Vijay Nambiar, a U.N. envoy travelling with Roed-Larsen, said he hoped those rules would be set ''in the next few days''.

''We expect that that will generate interest among the major troop contributing countries to commit troops in more concrete terms,'' Nambiar told reporters in Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called for Italy to lead the UN force, his office said in a statement.

The call was made in a telephone conversation between Olmert and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and indicated Italy's chances of leading the force had increased following France's apparent reluctance to commit more than 200 additional troops to Lebanon.

''It is important that Italy should lead the international force and send troops to also oversee the Lebanon-Syria border crossings,'' the statement said.

EXPANDED FORCE France has pledged to send only 200 extra troops to Lebanon, disappointing Washington and the United Nations, which had hoped the French contingent would form the backbone of an expanded UN force.

MORE REUTERS SK PM0537