Ben-Gvir orders closure of Voice of Palestine radio offices in Jerusalem

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the closure of the Voice of Palestine radio station's operations in Israeli territory on Monday.

The order does not affect the station's operations in the West Bank or anywhere else outside of Israeli territory.

The Voice of Palestine radio station is run by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation which is in turn run by the Palestinian Authority. The station's main office is in Ramallah. In Ramallah and Jerusalem, it functions on the 90.7 FM frequency.

The station operates through the Marcel company in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Following the issuing of the order, Jerusalem District police officers arrived at the offices of the Marcel company and gave them an order prohibiting them from providing services to the Palestinian radio station.

"I will not accept and we will not allow incitement and support for terrorism and terrorists, neither by the Palestinian Authority nor by any other body," said Ben-Gvir. "The State of Israel is sovereign and anyone who tries to fight us will find himself outside."

Israel Police get ready for Ramadan

Additionally on Monday, the Palestinian al-Qastal news outlet reported that a number of journalists from Jerusalem, including Firas Hindawi, Yazan Haddad, Lana Kamela and Walid Qamar, were summoned for questioning by Israeli police.

The decision to close the radio station's operations in Jerusalem comes just a few days before the month of Ramadan begins.

During Ramadan, Israel Police will operate a "police awareness" headquarters which will include intelligence and investigative measures in order to conduct enhanced monitoring of incitement and violence online in coordination with forces on the ground.

At a meeting of the Knesset National Security Committee late last month, both Jerusalem District police commander Doron Turgeman and Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai pointed out that incitement is one of the main threats that the defense establishment needs to fight at the moment.

"There are a lot of entities who have an interest in spreading incitement and portraying the situation as if Israel is violating the freedom of worship," said Shabtai. "Last year we managed to stop this because we did a live broadcast online from the Temple Mount. When they talk about a situation of large-scale riots on the Temple Mount and you show a photo from within the Temple Mount that shows everyone is coming peacefully, it does the job. The issue of awareness is no less important than the operational tools that we're placing on the table."