THE ISRAELI journalist in possession of about 2,000 leaked military documents has agreed to hand them over to the Shin Bet security agency.
Lawyers representing the Ha’aretz journalist Uri Blau returned to Israel yesterday from London with a promise from Mr Blau to hand over all the documents. They include 700 classified as top secret that were leaked to him from Anat Kam, who copied the documents during her military service at the army’s Central Command headquarters.
Ms Kam was charged at the Tel Aviv district court earlier this month with serious espionage.
Mr Blau, who has been in London since the affair broke last month, had said he was frightened to return home, where he faces the threat of arrest. His lawyers said the documents would be handed over in the coming days, expressing the hope that the move will enable Mr Blau to return home. They stressed that the documents were in Israel, denying rumours that the journalist took them with him to London.
Mr Blau had refused to hand over any material, but he relented after Anat Kam released a written statement waiving her privilege as a journalistic source. According to his lawyers he will return all the documents he received from Ms Kam, but not other material received from other sources.
Ha’aretz has already published an article based on data in some of the documents, with the approval of Israel’s military censor, which implied the army operated a shoot-to-kill policy when tracking down senior Palestinian militants.
According to Israeli media reports, the documents also include details of troop deployments and contingency plans for emergencies, and contained blueprints for Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The case raised a number of questions in Israel over the relationship between the media and the military in a country facing ongoing security threats.
Prominent Israeli journalists have urged a compromise under which Mr Blau would return the papers given to him by Anat Kam in exchange for the prosecution guaranteeing not to press charges.