Israel on alert as locusts cross in from Egypt [View all]
Source: Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A swarm of locusts crossed into Israel from neighboring Egypt Monday, raising fears that Israel could be hit with a biblical plague ahead of the Passover holiday.
Israel sent out planes to spray pesticides over agricultural fields to prevent damage by the small swarm, which numbers about 2,000 locusts, said Dafna Yurista, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry also set up an emergency hotline and asked Israelis to be vigilant in reporting locust sightings.
The locust alert comes ahead of the weeklong Passover festival, which recounts the biblical story of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. According to the Bible, a huge swarm of locusts was the eighth of 10 plagues God imposed on Egyptians to persuade Pharoah to free the ancient Hebrews from slavery. Pharaoh did not agree to let them go until after the 10th plague, the death of the first born in every Egyptian family.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_LOCUST_HOTLINE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-04-13-34-20
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