Member of Knesset Michael Ben-Ari asked Interior Minister Eli Yishai on Thursday evening to use his authority under the journalism regulations to close the Haaretz daily in the wake of revelations that the newspaper had printed articles by Uri Blau which contained classified military documents.
In a letter to the Shas party chairman, Dr. Ben-Ari noted the preciousness of freedom of expression in a democracy, but added, "when Haaretz announces that the newspaper will financially support Uri Blau and at the newspaper's initiative, Blau is not returning to the country, there's no choice but to order the closing of Haaretz - and not for a short time - until Blau returns, reports for questioning and returns the documents."