BEIRUT, Lebanon - Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, backed by Western powers and a parliamentary majority, is intent on establishing national sovereignty throughout Lebanon even though Hezbollah insists on keeping its arms.

In a televised address late Thursday, only hours after Israel lifted its eight-week air blockade on Lebanon and as UN peacekeepers and Lebanese soldiers deployed in the war-wracked south, Siniora said the nation stood at the point of no return.

"There will be no turning back, the determination of the state to extend its sovereignty over all the nation's territory is unwavering," the Lebanese premier said in an indirect reference to Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Shiite militia has controlled strategic parts of southern Lebanon since Israeli troops withdrew from the region in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.

But under the UN Security Council resolution that led to an August 14 truce in the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, the government is to extend its control over the entire country.

When Lebanese troops began moving into the south late last month, it was the first time in three decades, and the south had become a virtual fiefdom of Hezbollah.

Earlier this week, Nasrallah, whose guerrillas sparked the war with a July 12 cross-border raid and the capture of two Israeli soldiers, told the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir that his militants would not disarm.

As a condition for its full pullout from south Lebanon however, Israel has insisted on a Hezbollah disarmament.

Nasrallah also said Hezbollah would not consider the withdrawal complete until Israel also pulled out of the disputed Shebaa Farms, at the juncture of Lebanon, Israel and Syria.

The Shebaa Farms is a small, fertile plot of land covering about 20 square kilometers (eight square miles).

It was captured by Israel as part of the Golan Heights, seized from Syria, during the 1967 war, but is now claimed by Lebanon with Damascus's approval.

Despite previous agreements and Security Council resolutions calling for the disarmanent of all militias in Lebanon, Hezbollah has refused to lay down its weapons until the country is free of Israeli troops.

Siniora insisted Thursday that the Lebanese army needed to be strengthened, because it was the "principal instrument of national sovereignty, carrying out its mission by deploying in the south.

"We need to lay the groundwork for an effective and protective (central) power and reestablish confidence in the Lebanese state" among Lebanese both at home and abroad, as well as among Arab and other foreign investors.

The leader of the Druze community and prominent MP Walid Jumblatt said that for this to be accomplished "there must be a single base for decision-making, exclusive control over armed forces in the hands of the state, and all Lebanese must renounce foreign allegiances."

Hezbollah is closely tied to Syria and Iran.

The pro-government press called on all Lebanese factions Friday to rally round the central government.

The An-Nahar daily said "it should no longer be a matter of questioning the state's monopoly on the use of force, the decision to make war or peace or diplomatic strategy."

Al-Mustaqbal, owned by the family of assassinated former premier Rafiq Hariri, also took a stand against Hezbollah, warning against a "disequilibrium in managing the country's (numerous) confessional groups because of the will of one group to act like it was the state."

On Wednesday, Lebanon's Maronite Christian clergy issued a statement criticizing Hezbollah, saying "it is not permissable for one party, supported by foreign interference, to continue carrying arms" in defiance of the state monopoly.

Pro-Iranian Shiite political circles were quick to react, with one commentator claiming that Lebanon would "from now on be under an international tutelage that serves the interests of Israel."

The pro-Syrian daily As-Safir warned against a "disintegration of national unity" if the government permitted the "elimination of the 'resistance' (Hezbollah) in line with the Israeli plan."

"Like it or not, Hezbollah continues to enjoy the support of a large number Lebanese," the newspaper said.

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