The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is a nonfiction book published in 2006 by the Israeli historian Ilan Pappé. Pappé reassesses traditional Israeli narratives surrounding the foundation of the Israeli state, making the case that the Nakba of 1948 should be interpreted through the paradigm of ethnic cleansing rather than war. The book has drawn Western attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and The Role of Historical Narratives in Nation-State and Identity Building, The Nature of Ethnic Cleansing, and The Experiences of the Palestinian Diaspora. Many have praised Pappé book for its groundbreaking perspective, though some critics have noted flaws in Pappé’s facts and methodology.

This study guide refers to the e-book edition published by Oneworld Publications in 2011.

Content Warning: This book discusses themes relating to nationalism, jingoism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, including but not limited to war and war crimes, the mass suffering and displacement of Palestinians, and anti-Arab racism and xenophobia.

Plot Summary

In the Preface, Pappé introduces Plan D (Dalet), the 1948 Zionist plan to expel the Indigenous Arab and Muslim population of Palestine to make way for an exclusively Jewish state.