In this controversial new book, prominent Israeli historian Pappe revisits the formative period of the State of Israel. Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, and a million people were expelled from their homes. For anyone interested in the conflict in the Middle East. 'Israel's bravest historian' John Pilge This major book by the renowned Israeli historian, unveils the hidden and systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948, and its relevance to resolving the conflict. List of Illustrations, Maps and Tables viii Acknowledgements ix Preface xi 1. An 'Alleged' Ethnic Cleansing? 1 Definitions of Ethnic Cleansing 1 Ethnic Cleansing as a Crime 5 Reconstructing an Ethnic Cleansing 7 2. The Drive for an Exclusively Jewish State 10 Zionism's Ideological Motivation 10 Military Preparations 15 The Village Files 17 Facing the British: 1945-1947 22 David Ben-Gurion: The Architect 23 3. Partition and Destruction: UN Resolution 181 and its Impact 29 Palestine's Population 29 The UN's Partition Plan 31 The Arab and Palestinian Positions 33 The Jewish Reaction 35 The Consultancy Begins its Work 37 4. Finalising A Master Plan 39 The Methodology of Cleansing 39 The Changing Mood in the Consultancy: From Retaliation to Intimidation 52 December 1947: Early Actions 55 January 1948: Farewell to Retaliation 60 The Long Seminar: 31 December-2 January 61 February 1948: Shock and Awe 72 March: Putting the Finishing Touches to the Blueprint 80 5. The Blueprint for Ethnic Cleansing: Plan Dalet 86 Operation Nachshon: The First Plan Dalet Operation 87 The Urbicide of Palestine 91 The Cleansing Continues 103 Succumbing to a Superior Power 114 Arab Reactions 115 Towards the 'Real War' 123 6. The Phony War and the Real War over Palestine: May 1948 127 Days of Tihur 131 The Massacre at Tantura 133 The Brigades' Trail of Blood 138 Campaigns of Revenge 141 7. The Escalation of the Cleansing Operations: June September 1948 146 The First Truce 148 Operation Palm Tree 154 In Between Truces 156 The Truce that Wasn't 173 8. Completing the Job: October 1948 January 1949 179 Operation Hiram 180 Israel's Anti-Repatriation Policy 187 A Mini Empire in the Making 191 Final Cleansing of the South and the East 193 The Massacre in Dawaymeh 195 9. Occupation and its Ugly Faces 199 Inhuman Imprisonment 200 Abuses Under Occupation 204 Dividing the Spoils 211 Desecration of Holy Sites 216 Entrenching the Occupation 219 10. The Memoricide of the Nakba 225 The Reinvention of Palestine 225 Virtual Colonialism and the JNF 227 The JNF Resort Parks in Israel 229 11. Nakba Denial and the 'Peace Process' 235 First Attempts at Peace 237 The Exclusion of 1948 from the Peace Process 239 The Right of Return 241 12. Fortress Israel 248 The 'Demographic Problem' 249 Epilogue 257 Endnotes 262 Chronology 282 Maps and Tables 288 Bibliography 296 Index 301