Israeli government orders officials to boycott left-leaning paper Haaretz

Ministers also ban government advertising from critical newspaper that is widely respected internationally

Israel's government is set to punish the country's leading left-leaning newspaper, Haaretz, by ordering a boycott of the publication by government officials or anyone working for a government-funded body and halting all government advertising in its pages or website.

In a statement on Sunday, the office of Shlomo Karhi, the communications minister, said that his proposal against Haaretz had been unanimously approved by other ministers.