Cairo - An Egyptian court on Tuesday issued barred the government from exporting gas to Israel, a security source told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The higher administrative court's ruling came after a number of Egyptian lawyers made a case against the government for exporting gas to Israel at a price below the international gas price.

Egypt and Israel sealed a gas deal in 2005. The deal that lasts for 15 years gives Israel the right to import gas from Egypt at a fixed price.

Egypt's banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement and some Arab nationalists denounced the deal. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979. (dpa)