Israeli communications minister suggests sanctioning Haaretz over 'defeatist' content

The Israeli communications minister has proposed sanctioning Israeli daily Haaretz over what he called "defeatist and false propaganda" and suggested some of the outlet's articles may have “crossed the criminal threshold".

In a letter addressed to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, Shlomo Karhi said the state should stop any advertising in the outlet and halt any commercial relationship with it.

"Since the beginning of the war, my office has received numerous complaints that the Haaretz newspaper has taken a harmful line that undermines the goals of the war and weakens the military effort and societal resilience," he wrote.

He said he was sure the potential criminality of some articles would be "examined by the relevant authorities".