Bird flu outbreak prompts chicken culls in Israel

Animal cases of bird flu in Bala village in the Tul Karem area of the West Bank, northeast of Tel Aviv, have been confirmed, and some 250,000 chickens culled, according to officials.

Bala is a major egg and poultry-producing area and part of its produce is smuggled into Israel due to higher prices there, according to Israeli Agriculture Ministry officials.

Israeli veterinary services assisted the Palestinian Authority by transferring the drugs needed for the culling, said Shalom Simchon, Israel's minister of agriculture, and he called on international organisations to compensate Palestinian farmers for their huge losses.

Under international law, Israel is obliged to cease exports of poultry and poultry products for one month following the discovery of bird flu. Animal avian flu cases have been discovered three times in Israel since 2006.