(Reuters) -Israel’s defense minister said on Wednesday he planned to close publicly funded Army Radio in what he described as an attempt to preserve the military’s nonpartisan character, but the decision was denounced by the station’s chief as a blow to press freedom.
The minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement he would soon submit a proposal to the country’s right-wing government to close the station, which is editorially independent, and he expected it to end its broadcasts by March 1.
Army Radio’s chief, Tal Lev Ram, said the move was unexpected and not a professional process that prioritized the interests of soldiers.
“We see this as a real, regrettable, and dramatic blow to the people’s army, to Israeli society, and to freedom of the press in a democratic state,” he said in a statement.
“I intend to fight this grave decision by every means,” he said.
Army Radio is among two state-funded news outlets in Israel, the other being the public broadcaster KAN which operates a television news channel and several radio news stations.
Both are editorially independent of the government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been critical of Army Radio and KAN, sometimes accusing it of being biased against state institutions.
Katz said Army Radio had aired many opinions attacking the military and soldiers. The station is staffed by both soldiers and civilians and is widely popular among the Israeli public. A communications ministry spokesperson declined to comment.
The government has sought to privatise KAN, a move that some critics say is because KAN is critical of the government.
Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on X condemned the decision to close Army Radio, saying it was driven by “an anxious government that fears criticism”. He accused the government of trying to “change the rules of the game” ahead of next year’s election.
Israel’s journalist union said that it would fight to overturn Katz’s “harmful” decision.
It was not immediately clear when Katz would submit the proposal to the entire government.
Public opinion polls frequently show that Netanyahu’s coalition, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, would not win enough seats to form a government if an election were held today.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Jana Choukeir and Emily Rose; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean)
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