Palestinian warns against Israeli gum

JERUSALEM, May 27 (JTA) — A Palestinian Authority official has accused Israel of exporting to the autonomous areas chewing gum laced with aphrodisiacs and sterility-inducing drugs. Saleh Abdul-Aal, director of inspection and monitoring for the Palestinian Authority, said Tuesday that inspectors had found Israeli-made gum with sexual pictures on the wrapping during routine market inspections. He said the gum was sent for laboratory tests, which indicated that it contained sexually stimulating hormones as well as drugs that may generate sterility in men and women. The Israeli manufacturer of the gum did this “in order to create internal problems in our community and to kill our Islamic and national values,” Abdul-Aal said. He did not name the brand of the gum, nor the quantity that had been shipped into the self-rule areas. An Israeli official called the accusations “outrageous.”