GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On April 26, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza launched a crackdown against what it described as “propagandists.” During this unprecedented move, 17 Palestinian journalists and activists were arrested for several hours before being released after pledging not to publish news about internal Palestinian affairs before verifying it with official sources.

The crackdown came in the wake of escalating disputes between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, and only a day after the Gaza Interior Ministry threatened to take decisive action against social media propagandists, saying, “Some activists deliberately spread rumors on social media in order to stir up confusion among Palestinian citizens.”

On April 25, Hamas-affiliated al-Majd website, which mainly focuses on security issues, reported that the Hamas security services unveiled a dangerous plan thought up by security and intelligence agencies — without specifying which — to flood Gaza with rumors in order to create a state of confusion and chaos and disturb security in the Strip.

In the days leading up to the crackdown, rumors had been spreading in Gaza, mainly about murders and thefts spread by fake accounts, which proved to be invalid hours after they were published.