FRENCH and US officials were meeting late last night in Tel Aviv trying to merge their respective peace plans but neither Israel nor Hizbullah seemed keen on peace. The Israelis have pledged the attacks will go on. Hizbullah says it will continue firing rockets at Israel.

The UN and the EU suffered humiliation in former Yugoslavia when, for 3 1/2 years, Bosnian Serbs showed contempt for UN peace keeping efforts and European peace plans. Now they face a stern test again as the perpetrator of yesterday's atrocities - Israel - appears unlikely to change course in response to international calls for restraint.

The EU's Italian presidency could not see its way to issuing even a statement of condemnation yesterday. Some in the EU are anxious for the Union to develop a greater role in the Middle East but they clearly have a long way to go. The UN Secretary General, meanwhile, expressed "horror and outrage", an utterance with which he became very familiar through the 3 1/2 years of UN "peacekeeping" in former Yugoslavia.

Israel appears' hopeful that verbal international concern and condemnation will not translate into action, that would hurt it. Its spokesmen continued to suggest yesterday that the civilians killed in a UN base yesterday were being used as a shield for Hizbullah. The seven people killed by it in a house earlier yesterday were associated with Hizbullah, they explained. Six were children, including a four day old infant.

Israel's ambassador in Ireland, Mr Zvi Gabay, insisted last night his country was open to negotiation. The Israeli attacks would stop, he said, once the Hizbullah stopped firing Katyusha rockets at northern Israel.

The Israeli cabinet met last night to discuss the situation.

The US administration, always slow to criticise such Israeli actions, especially in an election year, is sending its Secretary of State, Mr Warren Christopher, to Israel tomorrow.

THERE are two peace plans now being floated, one from the US, one from the favour French. The Israelis seem to the US plan Hizbullah and the Arab world the French one. Last, night, French and US officials met Tel Aviv to co ordinate their proposals.

The French involvement began early this week when its Foreign Minister, Mr Herve de Charette, flew to the Middle East to try to negotiate a ceasefire. Some EU member states appeared upset that the French acted independently of EU "Troika" of the past, present and future presidencies of the Union.

The troika is the body supposed to conduct the Union's external relations but its members - the Italian, Irish and Dutch Foreign Ministers - were at meetings in Bolivia at the time. The French are now said to be reporting to the troika and are also co operating with the Americans.

European Foreign Ministers meet in Luxembourg on Monday morning to discuss their response. However, as one diplomatic source said yesterday: "The ministers will want to take whatever action can be taken but this is not something which the EU has the capacity to deal with. The reality is this is a situation in which the Americans have a very strong hand. The EU's role is still a developing one."

A troika mission of EU officials has been in the Middle East over the last few days and will report to Monday's Foreign Ministers' meeting.

Hizbullah has rejected the US proposal which, it says, means "suicide for its organisation. The US plan would involve a guarantee by Lebanon for the security of the residents of northern Israel, an end to the Hizbullah attacks and to attacks on Israeli soldiers in their self declared security zone in south Lebanon.

The US plan would also involve Israel declaring it has no demands in Lebanon and that it would discuss withdrawing its troops from the country if the Lebanese authorities established security in the south for nine months. Syria - it has 35,000 troops in Lebanon - would guarantee that it accepted the deal and would set up a mechanism to implement it.

WHlLE Hizbullah seems well disposed to the French plan, Israel seems to oppose it. The French propose that the US and France act as guarantors for a truce under which Israel, Lebanon and Hizbullah would pledge not to hit civilian targets.

The French plan differed from proposals ascribed by diplomats to the US in that it did not pledge an end to Hizbullah attacks on Israeli forces occupying Israel's self declared "security zone" in south Lebanon, nor did it require a direct Syrian guarantee. It makes no reference to Israeli demands that Hizbullah be disarmed or to Lebanese demands that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon.

A French spokesman described Mr de Charette's meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, earlier on Wednesday as "difficult", a diplomatic, euphenism for a clash. The Israelis are reported to be taking only the US proposal seriously.

The Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr Rafik al Hariri, said in London he preferred the French proposal to the US one, which sought to widen a verbal agreement made in July, 1993.

Mr de Charette was due to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, last night on his third visit to Israel this week. He had talks in Cairo on Wednesday night with the Syrian and Egyptian Foreign Ministers, who welcomed the French proposals.

UN Secretary General Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali has pronounced himself "shocked and horrified" at the Qana incident. He had many occasions to make similar statements while a massive UN force watched atrocities in Bosnia for 3 1/2 years.

Once again a UN peace keeping force - this one in Lebanon - has no peace to keep, no power to make a peace. It watches the horrors of war and does its best to pick up the pieces afterwards. Europe expresses concern and calls on all sides to show restraint - and everyone waits for the Americans, hoping they will do something.