Uri Blau, the journalist who took classified IDF documents from former IDF OC Central Command secretary Anat Kamm, is to stand trial, the attorney-general Yehuda Weinstein announced at noon on Wednesday.

Kamm, now aged 22, is serving a four-and-a-half year prison term following her February conviction under a plea bargain by which she had pleaded guilty to gathering and storing classified military documents during her mandatory army service and transferring them to Blau, a political affairs reporter for left-leaning Hebrew daily Haaretz.

The Tel Aviv District Attorney said on Wednesday that Weinstein had heard and "seriously considered" arguments put forward by Blau´s attorneys against Blau´s indictment, but had decided to reject them.

Blau will be charged under the Penal Code with aggravated espionage, which stipulates that if a person obtained, collected, prepared, recorded or kept secret information without authorization, but without intent to harm state security, he will face a maximum seven years in prison.

Significantly, Blau will not be charged with intending to harm state security, which attracts a maximum 15 year prison term.

The district attorney also emphasized that while the offense with which Blau will be charged under the Penal Code is "aggravated espionage", the indictment will not attribute to Blau the offense of "espionage" as it is usually understood.

Responding to the announcement, Haaretz said the decision "is unfortunate and sets a precedent in terms of its ramifications on the freedom of press in Israel, and especially on the ability to cover the security apparatus."(© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 05/30/12)