In a blow to the government’s plans to shutter Army Radio, the High Court of Justice on Sunday issued an interim order freezing the closure until the court reaches a final ruling on petitions against the move.

The court’s decision to freeze the closure of the station came just under a week after the cabinet unanimously approved Defense Minister Israel Katz’s controversial proposal to shut down Army Radio, with broadcasts set to end by March 1.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said Sunday evening that he had issued the interim order, in part, due to the fact that the government had not ruled out taking irreversible action against Army Radio before the court issues its final ruling on the petitions.

In his decision, Amit also noted that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the petitioners’ requests for an interim order freezing implementation of the decision. The attorney general’s office had issued that opinion earlier on Sunday, saying she believed the petitions seeking to keep Army Radio open would be accepted because there were procedural and substantive flaws in the government’s........

© The Times of Israel