Ilan Pappé: The Untold Truths of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba

Summary

The speaker critiques the role of the United Nations and Zionist movement during the 1947-1948 period, highlighting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the ensuing refugee crisis. The 1948 Nakba, marked by massacres, forced expulsions, and the destruction of Palestinian villages, is framed as a deliberate effort to erase Palestinian presence. The speaker emphasizes the need for a peace process based on three principles: acknowledgment of the Nakba, accountability for past and ongoing violations, and acceptance of Israel’s place in the Middle East, only after these steps are addressed. These principles aim to ensure justice and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Takeaways

• 😀 The United Nations created the UNSCOP in 1947, consisting of 13 member states, most of whom had limited knowledge of Palestine, leading to misunderstandings about the Palestinian position.
• 😀 The idea of self-determination for Palestinians was rejected by the UN, which instead supported the Zionist settler movement's participation in negotiations over the future of Palestine.
• 😀 The Palestinians requested a longer negotiation process from the UN to explain why their self-determination rights were being denied.
• 😀 The US, under pressure from Jewish lobby groups, withdrew support for a UN trust on Palestine in early 1948, further complicating the situation.
• 😀 Palestinian ethnic cleansing began in 1948, with over 150,000 Palestinians becoming refugees even before the British Mandate ended.
• 😀 Massacres, including the infamous Deir Yassin massacre in April 1948, accelerated the displacement of Palestinians.
• 😀 By May 15, 1948, 250,000 Palestinians were already refugees before the Arab League intervened militarily.
• 😀 Israeli forces continued ethnic cleansing while fighting against Arab forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, using tactics to expel Palestinians from villages.
• 😀 In October 1948, the Israeli military conducted Operation Hiram, which involved atrocities and war crimes against Palestinians, marking the worst phase of ethnic cleansing.
• 😀 Half of Palestine's population was expelled by 1948, and many Palestinian villages were destroyed, with Jewish settlements replacing them.
• 😀 The ongoing peace process must acknowledge, hold accountable, and accept the consequences of the 1948 ethnic cleansing, including the unconditional return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

Q & A

What was the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), and what role did it play in 1947?

The UNSCOP was established in 1947 by the United Nations to address the future of Palestine. It was composed of 13 member states, many of whom had limited knowledge of Palestine. The committee proposed a plan that largely ignored Palestinian self-determination and favored the Zionist settler movement, leading to the controversial Resolution 181 in November 1947, which partitioned Palestine and gave more than half of it to the Zionists.

Why did the Palestinians reject the United Nations' Resolution 181?

The Palestinians rejected Resolution 181 because it ignored their right to self-determination and handed over more than half of Palestine to the Zionist settlers, who were a minority at the time. The Palestinians were advocating for a more inclusive negotiation process and believed their rights had been overlooked by the international community.

What was the American proposal in February 1948, and how did the Palestinians respond?

In February 1948, the American delegation suggested a five-year trusteeship over Palestine to allow more time for negotiations. The Palestinians agreed to this proposal as a means to negotiate a fairer resolution, but President Truman withdrew U.S. support due to pressure from the Jewish lobby, further undermining Palestinian efforts for a just settlement.

What role did the Jewish forces play in the displacement of Palestinians during 1948?

Jewish forces began ethnic cleansing in Palestine in 1948, expelling Palestinian populations from cities and villages, particularly after the Deir Yassin massacre in April 1948. This process of forced displacement continued throughout the year, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians becoming refugees, even before the end of the British Mandate on May 15, 1948.

What were the main tactics used by Israeli forces to expel Palestinians from their land?

Israeli forces employed tactics of encircling Palestinian villages, forcing people to leave or evicting them by force. If the population did not flee, massacres and violence were used to accelerate the expulsion. This strategy was formalized in a plan adopted in March 1948, and it resulted in widespread displacement and destruction of Palestinian communities.

How did the Israeli forces justify their actions during the 1948 conflict?

Israeli forces justified their actions by framing them as necessary for the establishment of a Jewish state. Some Israeli leaders also claimed that their operations were akin to the biblical return to ancient Israel, often renaming Palestinian villages and planting forests over them to erase the Palestinian presence.

What were some of the atrocities committed during the 1948 war, particularly in October?

In October 1948, during Operation Ham, Israeli forces committed war crimes, including mass killings and forced expulsions of Palestinians. Some Jewish leaders themselves compared the tactics used by Israelis to those of Nazi forces during World War II, due to the scale of violence and the systematic nature of the operations.

What was the impact of these events on the Palestinian population by the end of 1948?

By the end of 1948, approximately half of Palestine's population had been expelled, and many Palestinian villages were demolished or depopulated. The vast majority of Palestinians who had lived in urban areas were now refugees, with many displaced across neighboring Arab countries.

What are the three principles proposed for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine?

The three principles proposed are: Acknowledgement, which calls for the recognition of the 1948 Nakba and the injustices faced by Palestinians; Accountability, which involves holding Israel accountable for the ethnic cleansing and other crimes committed during and after 1948; and Acceptance, which would allow Israel to become an integrated part of the region, accepted by Palestinians and the Arab world once these injustices are addressed.

Why is the year 1948 considered so significant in the Palestinian narrative of the conflict?

The year 1948 is considered the most significant in the Palestinian narrative because it marks the Nakba, or 'catastrophe,' when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced, villages were destroyed, and the foundation for the Israeli state was laid at the expense of Palestinian sovereignty and rights.