Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced his intention to close Israeli Army Radio (“ Galei Tzahal ,” or “ Galatz ”), on Wednesday. The station’s final broadcast date will be March 1, 2026.

Katz accused the Israel Defense Forces-run station of having become politicized. It has veered from its original purpose of serving as a voice for IDF soldiers and their families, and instead, has become “a platform for expressing opinions, many of which attack the IDF and the IDF soldiers themselves,” he said in a statement.

“The continued operation of the station involves the IDF, against its will, in the political discourse and severely damages its status as the people’s army,” he said.

Katz also noted that a military-operated civilian station is an anomaly, having “no parallel in any

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