Haaretz points to ‘bid to silence’ as Netanyahu govt votes to sanction Israel’s oldest paper

Israel’s cabinet has reportedly voted to sanction the nation’s oldest newspaper Haaretz citing its critical coverage of the country’s ongoing military operations and comments by the outlet’s publisher calling for sanctions on senior government officials.

Haaretz has called it a bid to “silence a critical, independent newspaper”.

This comes two months after Israeli forces shut down an Al Jazeera office in Ramallah. At least 137 journalists and media workers have been killed covering the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

According to the proposal by communications minister Shlomo Kar’i, government advertising in the newspaper will come to an end and subscriptions for state employees and employees of state-owned companies will be cancelled.

This comes weeks after Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken drew flak from pro-government voices for his reference to Palestinian “freedom fighters” during a speech at the outlet’s event in London last month. Schocken had also called for international sanctions on Israeli leaders as the only way to force the government to change course.

“In a sense, what is taking place now in the occupied territories and in part of Gaza is a second Nakba…A Palestinian state must be established and the only way to achieve this, I think, is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it and against the settlers.”

In an editorial, the paper said that Schocken was referring to “Palestinians living under occupation and oppression in the West Bank”. It said Schocken had “erred” by referring to anyone who deliberately harms and terrorises civilians as “freedom fighters”.

“October 7 was horrible. Nothing of what happened after October 7 justifies what Israel has done ever since then,” Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy had earlier told Newslaundry.

Watch our Gaza coverage here.

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