TEL AVIV - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Barack Obama on Wednesday and spoke by telephone with his vice president as a vocal feud over Jewish settlements took on softer tones. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cast more doubts on prospects for indirect peace talks with Israel soon, reaffirming a demand it first halt all settlement construction. Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. In an unusual twist in a week of heightened rhetoric in the US-Israeli relationship, Netanyahu had to distance himself from comments by his brother-in-law who called the president an anti-Semite in a radio interview. "I have a deep appreciation for President Obama's commitment to Israel's security, which he has expressed many times," Netanyahu said in a statement, disavowing himself from all comments made by Hagai Ben-Artzi, his wife's brother.
