Egyptian television featured a segment in which Muhammad Al-Mane’i of the Sinai Bedouins accused Israel of producing jeans, which were then sold to Arabs, containing magnets that cause infertility in Arab women, the Middle East Media Reseach Institute (MEMRI) reported. 

Al Mane’i claimed, “There was a time when they would bring us jeans… These pants used to have belts. If you looked at these belts from the front, you’d find a secret compartment, and when you opened it, you would find a magnet inside. When we asked that these magnets were, we were told that they cause sterility. “

The reported then asked Al-Mane’i whether his intention was to state that these jeans cause infertility in Arab women, to which Al Mane’i responded, “Exactly… There was a time when these jeans with belts would invade us from Israel, and we used to take the magnets out and chuck them away. “

The reported concluded the segment by saying, “Israeli products contain lethal poison. You might not feel this poison now, but you will in the future. Israel will remain an enemy lying in wait for Egypt, no matter what happens and regardless of the agreements, because Israel has its eye set on Egypt.”

It is possible that Al Mane’i was referring to magnets that helped belts stay closed, but Israeli manufacturers did not consider the accusation worthy of comment, conjecturing that it is either a result of rampant anti-Semitism or that the source is an Arab jeans manufacturer who knows that Gaza markets are filled with Israeli products.