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