Thursday, April 08, 2010 – 1:00PM IL: Partial lifting of gag order: Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin told reporters that the case in point is a “most serious security matter, one that compromises state security”.

Walla News released a statement that the suspect was not employed by Walla at the time the alleged events occurred, but on leave. No statement has been released by Haaretz.

The partial lifting of the gag order is the result of a public pressure and court appeals, with the media insisting the gag order is absurd since the case is detailed in the foreign media. The court a short time ago partially lifted the gag order, permitting the release of some details in the case.

Journalist Anat Kamm, 23, stands accused of copying over 2,000 classified documents, which were found in her home, documents that she accessed during her IDF service, which were turned over to Uri Blau of Haaretz. Kamm, who is employed by Walla, has been under house arrest for a number of months.

During her military service in which she was a member of the staff of former IDF Central Division Commander Major-General Yair Naveh, she is accused of taking over 2,000 classified documents. Information pertaining to the classified material was also found on the suspect’s computer. The documents appear to have served as the basis for Blau’s 2008 expose addressing the IDF’s elimination of Palestinians.    

While the lifting of the gag order is partial, many respectable foreign agencies are reporting on the case, including the New York Times.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)