Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the decision to shutter the military broadcaster last week, with the closure slated to take effect in March.

Ahead of the scheduled hearing, and just hours after the government and the attorney-general submitted their preliminary responses, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit on Sunday ordered that the government’s decision to shutter Army Radio be frozen until further notice.

The interim order comes amid a widening legal clash between the government and the A-G over the decision to close the military broadcaster, with Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara warning the High Court that the move is legally flawed and risks causing irreversible harm.

“The decision is laden with errors,” Baharav-Miara said, noting that the court is expected to hear the case by the end of January.

Representing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the attorney-general’s Office, submitted an accompanying advisory opinion urging the court to issue an interim order freezing both the government’s decision and any preparatory steps taken to implement it until the court rules.

It further noted that the time between the decision and its execution is only about two months.

Katz announces decision to close Army Radio

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the decision to shutter the military broadcaster last week, with the closure slated to take effect in March.

Army Radio has been broadcasting for 75 years and has long served as a training ground for generations of Israeli journalists. The government has argued that the army has no business operating a news station, especially one that it especially one that it claims leans toward one side of the political map.

Baharav-Miara warned that “the damage that will be caused by actions taken now to shutter the station will be both significant and irreversible.”

The legal advisory's position is that an interim injunction is warranted both on procedural and substantive grounds.