Israel radio said the measures were ordered after a series of rallies by ultra-nationalists accusing the government of betrayal.

Correspondents say the scenes were reminiscent of those preceding the assassination of the former prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, by a Jewish extremist three years ago.

BBC Jerusalem Correspondent Lyse Doucet: Opposition to the latest peace deal turns into hostility towards Netanyahu

Mr Netanyahu is being condemned by Jewish settlers and conservatives as a traitor who has betrayed Israel and put its security at risk.

Our correspondent says threats are directed not only at the government, but at the life of the premier.

Cabinet vote postponed

The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has meanwhile said he is confident that Israel will stand by last week's peace deal. He was responding to Mr Netanyahu's decision to postpone indefinitely a cabinet vote on the agreement.

The United States also says it believes the interim Middle East peace accord will move forward despite the the Prime Minister's decision.

The Israeli government postponed the cabinet vote on the grounds that the Palestinians had not kept their promise to submit a detailed security plan to Israel this week.

James Rubin: I believe Palestinians will provide a plan

However, US State Department spokesman James Rubin told the BBC there was still time for the Palestinians to provide their plan.

Mr Rubin added he was confident that Mr Netanyahu would act to get the necessary approval from his cabinet in the coming days.

Moshe Vogel: Mr Netanyahu is not making excuses

Mr Netanyahu's spokesman, Moshe Fogel, said the prime minister would convene the cabinet to endorse the agreement as soon as it received the Palestinian plan for fighting violence.

But senior Palestinian negotiator Hassan Asfour accused Mr Netanyahu of ''political cowardice" and said he was pandering to pressure from extremists and settlers.

He said Palestinian negotiators had already submitted their security plan during talks in Washington and it was now up to the US and Israel to sort it out.

A right-wing Israeli protester wears a Bill Clinton mask

The accord, signed by Mr Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, promises a phased Israeli withdrawal from 13% of the West Bank in exchange for Palestinian action, overseen by the US, against violent militants.

Mr Asfour said: "It seems that once again Netanyahu is going to succumb to the political blackmail by the herds of settlers and extremists.

''It shows that Netanyahu has unwillingly signed the agreement... under the threat of the US president.''

Fresh violence in West Bank

Mr Netanyahu's decision - which augurs badly for the success of the peace process - came as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Spokesman for the Israeli Government David Bar-Illan: Fight against terrorism is the most important part of the peace deal

The latest trouble follows the killing of an elderly Palestinian man near Nablus yesterday in what appeared to be revenge for the murder of a Jewish settler near Hebron earlier.

Palestinian police say they have arrested two men who had confessed to that killing.

Security high

Israeli and Palestinian security forces remain on high alert with Hebron sealed off, and a curfew in place on the 15,000 Palestinians who live there there.

Earlier more than 1000 mourners attended the settler's funeral amid demands that Mr Netanyahu reject the peace dea.

The killing also sparked off noisy protests by right-wing settlers outside Mr Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem on Monday evening.

The demonstration followed a confidence vote in parliament, which the Israeli leader survived with the support of the opposition Labour party.

Opinion polls published by Israeli newspaper, Yediot Aharonot, showed that almost three in four Israelis support the accord.