A very weak earthquake was felt on Friday morning in Israel, in the Dead Sea region on the Jordan border and in the northern Negev city of Arad.
The Geophysical Institute of Israel said that the quake was weak and it was not possible to measure it in numbers on the Richter scale, although the quake reawakened concerns over a massive quake that may hit Israel soon.
Israel has been preparing in recent years for a stronger earthquake that is liable to be experienced in the country sometime in the near future.
Dr. Uri Frieslander, former general manager of the Geophysical Institute, said that it isn't possible to forecast when the next earthquake will come.
"We aren't able to predict earthquakes, meaning (we can't say) when it will be and where," he noted.
"In general earthquakes rated between 3 to 4 on the Richter scale occur once every few months, in this case we're talking about a 5.5 quake which takes place every few years, sometimes ten or 15 years," added Frieslander.
Frieslander's comments were made following an earthquake last summer that was felt nationwide in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Rehovot, Nahariya, Acre (Akko), Afula, Be'er Sheva, Arad and Eilat.
The focal point of the quake was four kilometers southeast of Nuweiba in the Sinai Peninsula, at a depth of ten kilometers below sea level.
Following the quake takeoffs and landings at Ben-Gurion International Airport were cancelled for ten minutes, as the earthquake was felt in the airport as well.