The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
Ilan Pappé
Drawing on Israeli military archives, Pappé documents the deliberate expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 — and names it ethnic cleansing.
Using declassified Israeli military and cabinet archives, village files, and Palestinian testimony, Ilan Pappé reconstructs the events of 1948 not as a fog of war but as a systematic operation: the implementation of Plan Dalet, under which more than four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed and some 700,000 people expelled or fled between 1947 and 1949. Pappé argues that this was a deliberate project of ethnic cleansing, decided at the highest levels of the Zionist leadership.
The book was controversial on publication and has since become foundational — a reference point for historians, activists, and courts of public opinion alike. Pappé closes by calling the final chapter of the Nakba an ongoing one, and insists that recognizing 1948 is a precondition for any just settlement.
About the author
Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian, a leading figure among Israel’s “New Historians,” and a professor at the University of Exeter, where he directs the European Centre for Palestine Studies. His books include A History of Modern Palestine, The Biggest Prison on Earth, and Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic.
Details
- Published by Oneworld Publications, 2006
The edition
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Connected in the archive
30 connected records30 records elsewhere in the archive are linked to this one, each by a piece of evidence you can read below.
named in this record — 5 records
One record names the other. A pointer for reading, not a claim that they belong to each other.
- A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: His books include A History of Modern Palestine, The Biggest Prison on Earth, and Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic.
- Ilan Pappéإيلان بابيه
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Using declassified Israeli military and cabinet archives, village files, and Palestinian testimony, Ilan Pappé reconstructs the events of 1948 not as a fog of war but as a systematic operation: the implementation of Plan Dalet, under which more than four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed and some 700,000 people expelled or fled between 1947 and 1949.
- Plan Dalet
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Using declassified Israeli military and cabinet archives, village files, and Palestinian testimony, Ilan Pappé reconstructs the events of 1948 not as a fog of war but as a systematic operation: the implementation of Plan Dalet, under which more than four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed and some 700,000 people expelled or fled between 1947 and 1949.
- Plan Dalet
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Using declassified Israeli military and cabinet archives, village files, and Palestinian testimony, Ilan Pappé reconstructs the events of 1948 not as a fog of war but as a systematic operation: the implementation of Plan Dalet, under which more than four hundred Palestinian villages were destroyed and some 700,000 people expelled or fled between 1947 and 1949.
- The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: His books include A History of Modern Palestine, The Biggest Prison on Earth, and Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic.
names this record — 3 records
One record names the other. A pointer for reading, not a claim that they belong to each other.
- Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian at the University of Exeter and the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.
- Ten Myths About Israel
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: He is the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, The Idea of Israel, and The Biggest Prison on Earth, among other works.
- The Palestinians left voluntarily in 1948, because Arab leaders told them to leave
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: …people driven from Lydda and Ramle in July 1948. Avi Shlaim (The Iron Wall, 2000) found no evidence of a general Arab evacuation order, and Ilan Pappé (The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, 2006) argued the expulsions followed from Plan Dalet.…
on a related subject — 22 records
Filed near each other — the same Mandate district, or the same uncommon subject tags.
- Bir al-Sabaبئر السبع
Evidence — From a recorded field in this archive: Shared tags: "nakba", "1948".
- Lyddaاللد
Evidence — From a recorded field in this archive: Shared tags: "1948", "nakba".
- Ramleالرملة
Evidence — From a recorded field in this archive: Shared tags: "1948", "nakba".
- Tiberiasطبريا
Evidence — From a recorded field in this archive: Shared tags: "nakba", "1948".
- Abd al-Qadir al-Husayniعبد القادر الحسيني
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "1948".
- Abd al-Rahim Mahmoudعبد الرحيم محمود
Evidence — Inferred from the text — read the evidence: Shared tag: "1948".
- and 16 more
Cite this page
Every claim above carries its sources — citation is the point.
- Chicago
“The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.” Library, FALASTEEN.AI. Accessed 22 August 2026. https://falasteen.ai/library/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestine/.- MLA
“The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.” Library, FALASTEEN.AI, 2026, https://falasteen.ai/library/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestine/. Accessed 22 August 2026.- BibTeX
@misc{falasteen-the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestine, title = {The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine}, howpublished = {\url{https://falasteen.ai/library/the-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestine/}}, organization = {FALASTEEN.AI — A Living Archive for Palestine}, year = {2026}, note = {Accessed 2026-08-22} }