Israel’s Netanyahu defends partnership with far-right party

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister is defending his partnership with a small ultranationalist party despite local and international condemnation.
Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted Saturday that the criticism, including from pro-Israel Jewish organizations in the U.S., was marked by “hypocrisy and double standards.” He accused leftist critics in Israel of having once acted “to put extreme Islamists into the Knesset” to weaken the right.
Netanyahu is seeking a fo