Netanyahu rival launches probe, testing partnership

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister has appointed a committee to investigate the government’s controversial purchase of German submarines several years ago — a step that further strains his already poor relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The $2 billion purchase of the submarines and warships made by Thyssenkrupp is the focus of a sweeping corruption scandal in which seven businessmen, including confidants of Netanyahu, have been named as suspects.