Massive spray operations continued on Monday against the locust onslaught that
has plagued Israel for the past week.
Pesticide dispersal occurred in
eight different rounds on Monday morning, covering Habesor Stream near Ofakim,
olive groves in the Ashalim area, Revivim and Mount Keren, the Agriculture
Ministry said. The spraying took place both on the ground and by air,
efficiently and effectively, the ministry stressed, noting that its teams are
continuing to search through the region for more Acrididae.
The day
before, a new swarm of locusts had entered the country from Egypt near Moshav
Be’er Malka, heading toward Ashalim and Ofakim in two different bands. This
swarm followed a second one that had come in on Friday in the Nitzana area, as
well as the initial swarm that swooped into the country at Kadesh Barnea on
Tuesday.
The Ramat Hanegev Regional Council has turned to Egyptian
President Mohamed Morsi, requesting he conduct more fastidious spraying
operations to ward off the locusts that have overtaken the region.
After
locusts began to swarm across the Sinai border and into the Nitzana area in the
Negev, Ramat Hanegev Regional Council Chairman Shmuel Rifman sent a letter to
Morsi directly, asking the Egyptian president to speed up treatment of the
ongoing plague.
Meanwhile, Rifman also turned to Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, asking that he acquire authorization from Morsi to bring Israeli
pesticide aircraft into Egyptian airspace, according to the letter.
After
the buildup of locusts in the region, Moshe Basson of Jerusalem’s Eucalyptus
restaurant contacted the regional council on Monday requesting a batch to serve
to customers as a delicacy.
However, the council warned that after the
heavy pesticides, the locusts may no longer be organic, a regional spokesman
said.