Jerusalem ? Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel has no plans to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon until an international peacekeeping force takes up positions along the Syrian border and at Beirut’s airport.

Israeli officials said Olmert wasn’t issuing an ultimatum. But the tough stance appeared to be an attempt to put pressure on the international community to send a powerful force willing to disarm Hezbollah, which fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel during 34 days of fighting.

Lebanese girls on Tuesday play on the floor of their house that was damaged by Israeli bombardments during the 34-day-long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the village of Siddiqine, southern Lebanon. Their mother is standing next to a damaged wall as she comes to check on her sleeping child.

The proposed U.N. rules of engagement for the international force would allow troops to open fire in self-defense, protect civilians and back up the Lebanese army in preventing foreign forces or arms from crossing the border, according to a U.N. document obtained Tuesday.

Olmert laid down his position in a meeting with U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who is in the region to discuss implementation of a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Diplomats are still trying to hammer out final details, including the peacekeeping force’s precise responsibilities.

“Olmert said deploying the force at border crossings to Syria and at the airport will allow the lifting of Israel’s sea and air closure and contribute to the implementation” of the cease-fire, the prime minister’s office said.

Roed-Larsen said the security situation in Lebanon would remain “vulnerable” for the next two or three months, but said Lebanon was working to secure its borders. He said he hopes the embargo will be lifted soon.

An Aug. 11 Security Council resolution calls for a 15,000-member international force to monitor Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.