Agriculture Ministry said "will issue special licenses to allow the import of lulavs from Spain, Jordan and the Gaza Strip"
In another sign of cooling relations between Israel and Egypt the Israeli agriculture ministry announced that Egypt has forbidden the picking and exporting of palm fronds used in the upcoming Jewish holiday - Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
Israel's Agriculture Ministry said Egypt has banned the export of palm fronds to Israel and Jewish communities abroad.
The fronds of the date palm, known as lulavim (one of the Four Species mentioned in the Torah), are used in prayer services during the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles.
Egypt supplies about 700,000 of the fronds to Israel each year.
Orit Noked Israeli Agriculture Ministry said "will issue special licenses to allow the import of lulavs from Spain, Jordan and the Gaza Strip, so that no major shortage is experienced in the run-up to the holiday".
