Israel has been alerted for an invasion, expected toward the end of October, and is preparing to repel it or at least minimize its effects. The enemy is the locust, a plague that dates from Biblical times, and Israel’s weapons are a large supply of insecticide and airplanes especially equipped to spray them.
The alert was sounded in reports from anti-locust research centers in London, Europe and Africa which indicate the worst infestation of locusts in 16 years threatening the Red Sea and Middle Eastern countries. Swarms have already reached some parts of the Sudan and Saudi Arabia. They are expected to hit Israeli territory late this month, mainly the southern regions. The presence of Israeli forces in Sinai will provide advance warning. The locust plague this year is attributed by entomologists to heavy rains on the Arabian Peninsula that let the insects thrive and multiply.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
