(Adds quote, Israeli reaction)

RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 2 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended peace talks with Israel in response to an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, a top aide said on Sunday.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, the aide, said Abbas had ordered "the suspension of negotiations and all forms of contacts on all levels because it has become empty of any meaning in light of the Israeli aggression".

Arye Mekel, spokesman for Israel's chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said the decision by the Palestinians to suspend the negotiations was a "mistake" and expressed hope the talks would resume "in the very near future".

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