Gaza City  - The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement is accusing Israel of distributing a form of chewing gum which enhances sex-drive, in a bid to "corrupt" young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas police spokesman in Gaza Islam Shahwan told reporters on Wednesday that Israeli intelligence services were "smuggling" aphrodisiacs into Gaza, in the shape of both chewing gum and of "drops."

"The aim according to our initial investigation is to corrupt the young generation of the Gaza Strip," said Shahwan.

Hamas police claimed earlier this week that it had nabbed a number of members of a local gang, said to smuggle the two types of aphrodisiacs.

Shahwan claimed that the gang's members confessed that they were instructed by Israeli intelligence officers to distribute the chewing-gum and the drops amongst the young generation, mostly women.

He added the gang members also "admitted" the Israeli security officials did not ask for money, but rather asked the smugglers to distribute the aphrodisiacs for free.

An Israeli military spokesman in Jerusalem, who giggled when confronted with the Hamas police's accusations, said it was the first time he had heard of them. He added he would check the report.

No independent verification of the efficacy or otherwise of the chewy aphrodisiacs was yet available. (dpa)