'Israel' sanctions oldest newspaper Haaretz over critical reporting
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Haaretz has been criticizing "Israel’s" military actions, including investigations into abuses by the Israeli military as operations in Gaza and Lebanon expand.
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Palestinians hold the bodies of their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, on July 21, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday to impose sanctions on Haaretz, "Israel's" oldest newspaper, citing its critical coverage of the war on Gaza and comments from the publisher calling for sanctions against senior government officials.
Haaretz has been reporting critically on "Israel’s" military actions, including investigations into abuses by the Israeli military as operations expanded in Gaza and Lebanon.
The proposal, introduced by Communications Minister Shlomo Kar’i, includes halting government advertising in the newspaper and "canceling subscriptions for state employees and workers of state-owned companies."
Haaretz condemned the move as an effort to “silence a critical, independent newspaper.”
After the vote, Communications Minister Shlomo Kar’i stated, “We must not allow a reality in which the publisher of an official newspaper in the State of Israel will call for the imposition of sanctions against it and will support the enemies of the state in the midst of a war and will be financed by it, while international bodies are undermining the legitimacy of the State of Israel, its right to self-defense and are actually imposing sanctions against it and its leaders.”
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Amos Schocken, the publisher of Haaretz, faced backlash for referring to Palestinians as "freedom fighters" during a speech at a Haaretz-organized event in London on October 27.
Schocken criticized the Netanyahu government, stating, “It doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls terrorists.”
In his speech, Schocken also called for international sanctions on Israeli leaders, stating, “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.”
Communications Minister Shlomo Kar’i responded to Schocken’s comments, noting the newspaper’s war coverage in his statement, “The decision came in the wake of many articles that damaged the legitimacy of the State of Israel in the world and its right to self-defense.”
Haaretz condemns the Israeli government’s sanction as an assault on 'democracy'
Haaretz condemned the decision in a statement on Sunday, describing it as “another step in Netanyahu’s journey to dismantle Israeli democracy.”
“... Netanyahu is attempting to silence a critical, independent newspaper,” the statement added, asserting that "Haaretz will not back down and will not turn into a government mouthpiece publishing messages approved by the government and its leader.”
This is happening as Gaza Government Media Office reported earlier this month that the number of journalists and media workers killed since the start of the genocidal war has risen to 183.
