Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a halt to high-level contacts with the Palestinians on non-security related issues, but exempted his chief peace negotiator from the ban, government officials said on Wednesday.

The edict was part of Israel's response to what one official called the "Palestinians's grave violation of their commitments in the framework of the peace talks", an apparent reference to their signing of 15 international conventions last week amid a deep crisis in the U.S.-brokered negotiations.

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