Israeli court rules former PM Olmert defamed Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has ruled that former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert defamed his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, and ordered he pay the former leader and his family damages. The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Monday dismissed Olmert’s claim that he was “expressing an opinion in good faith” by saying Netanyahu exhibited “crazy behavior” and that his wife and son suffered from “mental illness.” It ordered the former prime minister to pay around $18,000 to Netanyahu and his family, as well as legal costs, in the high-profile defamation suit.