JERUSALEM/ ISTANBUL 

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened Monday to run over Supreme Court President Isaac Amit over a decision blocking the closure of Army Radio.

On Dec. 22, the Israeli government unanimously approved Defense Minister Israel Katz’s request to shut down Army Radio starting from early March.

But Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday issued a temporary order freezing the closure decision until it rules on the appeals filed against it.

During a meeting of the parliamentary bloc of his Religious Zionism Party, Smotrich described Amit as “violent, ruthless, megalomaniac who is stealing Israeli democracy.”

“The result will be that we will run him over – there will be no other choice,” Smotritch said in comments cited by the daily Haaretz.

“Amit allows himself to do things that have never been done before,” he said.

“I wish we could reach a balanced process and compromises. We tried. He leaves you no choice but to break it with full force,” Smotrich said.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi backed Smotrich’s statements, writing on X that “what the finance minister said must be implemented.”

The opposition, meanwhile, denounced Smotrich’s remarks as a “death threat.”

The current Israeli government, formed at the end of 2022, is considered the most extreme in the country’s history. By law, its term runs until the end of next year unless early elections are called.

Several Israeli parties and organizations have filed petitions to the court against the decision to close Army Radio, which was established in 1950.

Army Radio is considered one of Israel’s most prominent media outlets, but it is not an official spokesperson for the military and at times broadcasts criticism of the government and the defense establishment.