Israeli daily newspaper Maariv ceased regular publication this week as its owner sought the court’s protection from creditors.

British-Israeli publisher Shlomo Ben-Tzvi bought the ailing Maariv a year-and-a-half ago, promising to return the paper to its former glory.

Mr Ben-Tzvi already owned the right-wing daily Makor Rishon, and some of the editorial operations of the two papers have been combined. On Friday afternoon, Maariv’s employees were informed that the paper would not be published on Sunday. A group of editors arrived at the offices on Saturday night and ensured that the next morning’s edition appeared online.

On Sunday, Mr Ben-Tzvi received court protection from creditors for 60 days. The workers opposed the move, claiming their proprietor was only interested in keeping the brand-name and firing most of the employees.