The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

The 1948 Palestine-Israel War is known to Israelis as 'The War of Independence', but for Palestinians it will forever be the Nakba, the 'catastrophe'. Alongside the creation of the State of Israel, the end of the war led to one of the largest forced migrations in modern history. Around a million people were expelled from their homes at gunpoint, civilians were massacred, and hundreds of Palestinian villages deliberately destroyed. Though the truth about the mass expulsion has been systematically distorted and suppressed, had it taken place in the twenty-first century it could only have been called 'ethnic cleansing'.Prominent Israeli academic Ilan Pappe argues passionately for the international recognition of this tragedy. His groundbreaking and controversial work sheds new light on the origins and development of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, asking questions that the world has so far failed to ask to reveal the real story behind the events of 1948. Based on meticulous research, including recently declassified Israeli archival material, Dr. Pappe's vivid and timely account demonstrates conclusively that 'transfer' - a euphemism for ethnic cleansing - was from the start an integral part of a carefully planned strategy, and lies at the root of today's ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The book that is providing a storm of controversy, from 'Israel's bravest historian' (John Pilger)

List of Illustrations, Maps and TablesAcknowledgementsPreface1. An 'Alleged' Ethnic Cleansing?2. The Drive for an Exclusively Jewish State3. Partition and Destruction: UN Resolution 181 and its Impact4. Finalising a Master Plan5. The Blueprint for Ethnic Cleansing: Plan Dalet6. The Phony War and the Real War over Palestine: May 19487. The Escalation of the Cleansing Operations: June--September 19488. Completing the Job: October 1948--January 19499. Occupation and its Ugly Faces10. The Memoricide of the Nakba11. Nakba Denial and the 'Peace Process'12. Fortress IsraelEpilogueEndnotesChronologyMaps and TablesBibliographyIndex