Anat Kam
Anat KamIsrael news photo: file

The IDF spy case revealed Thursday began in late 2008, with the publication of an article in Haaretz. The article, by writer Uri Blau, accused the IDF of continuing a policy of targeted assassination of terrorists despite a Supreme Court order favoring arrests whenever possible.

Sources in the defense establishment who saw the article – and other pieces by Blau – realized that the writer's references to the timing and location of IDF arrest operations were unusually detailed. They suspected that Blau had somehow obtained top-secret military documents.

Investigation launched

The Chief of Staff requested an investigation, and the request was approved by then-Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. The Israel Security Agency (ISA), police and IDF began a joint investigation aimed at returning the classified material and finding the person responsible for taking them. The investigation, which was kept under wraps, was subject to oversight by the court system and government legal advisors.

In early 2009, investigators began their search. They soon discovered that Blau was in fact in possession of secret IDF documents.

The ISA took the unusual step of making a deal with Blau, in order to ensure the return of the documents, and in order to respect freedom of the press, including the need for the reporter to protect his sources. It was agreed that Blau would hand over any classified documents in his possession; in return, the documents would not be used as evidence against him or against his source, and he would not be questioned as a suspect or asked to reveal his source.



Computer destroyed

In late September, 2009, Blau returned dozens of classified documents to the military. His personal computer, on which he had stored classified information, was destroyed.

Investigators continued to seek Blau's source, and soon afterwards identified her as 23-year-old Anat Kam of Tel Aviv, a media-affairs journalist at the Walla news portal.

Kam was questioned, and revealed that during her military service in the office of then-Central Command Head Major-General Yair Naveh, she had stored thousands of classified documents on the computer provided to her by the IDF. Shortly before her release from service in June 2007, she stored more than 2,000 of the files on a 'disc-on-key' device.

She then copied the files onto her personal computer at home, despite being aware that possession of the documents was a serious crime. The documents taken included top-secret files with information on special operations, intelligence reports, General Staff meeting notes, ongoing IDF operations, troop deployment, and more.

'Soldiers would have died'

Had the information fallen into enemy hands, it would very likely have led to the deaths of military personnel, military sources said.

Investigators also discovered that Kam had attempted to give top-secret information to a different reporter before giving it to Blau in September and October of 2008. The reporter expressed interest in the documents, but Kam was unable to hand over the information as planned.

On January 14, 2010, Kam was indicted for spying, handing out classified information in an attempt to undermine national defense, and gathering and possessing classified information with the intent of undermining national defense.

Danger continues

After discovering that Kam had sent Blau many of the documents in her possession, investigators suspected that Blau had returned only a small percentage of the information he had committed to return. Blau, who has been abroad since December 2009, was summoned back to Israel for questioning, but has not yet returned. The ISA negotiated with his lawyers in hopes of receiving the missing documents, but on April 6, 2010, realized negotiations were futile.

Investigators fear that top-secret documents remain in the possession of unauthorized persons, and that if even a handful of the documents were to find their way into enemy hands, they could cause serious damage to Israel state security.