Talk:Nakba/Archive 4

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Archive 4

Preemptively creating a chat section of my contextualization edits

I am just proactively creating this section for discussion of my changes. I tied most of the changes to our own articles. I feel that we started our article, here, in media res. I hope that my edits give a neutral background of the situation that led up to the Nakba. --Bertrc (talk) 00:28, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

I reverted a couple of them, hopefully my edit summaries were clear in explaining the reasons. Levivich (talk) 06:55, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for fighting my laziness! References added this time. --Bertrc (talk) 16:12, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

(Also, my initial phrasing chained the broader war as coming out of the civil war. This time I just called it the subsequent broader war) --Bertrc (talk) 16:16, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Reverted again. I don't mean to be a jerk about it, but there were a number of problems with what you added, quick list:

1. Some of the citations were incomplete to the point of not being verifiable
2. Newspaper reports from 1947-1948 are contemporaneous and thus primary sources, not RSes
3. Recent newspaper articles are still not good sources for history; there is tons of scholarship to use as sources, much of it listed at #Core sources
4. Why would we cite French translations of English works instead of the English works themselves?
5. O Jerusalem! is like 50+ years old and pre-dates the opening of the archives; too old to be a reliable source for Nakba
6. Karsh 2002 is a 96-page booklet; even if we were to cite Karsh, there are better works by Karsh than this, including more in-depth and more recent works
7. Why cite a Pappe book from 2000 when there are more recent works by Pappe? I'm not sure why we'd cite anything by Pappe about Nakba that was written before 2006 (when he published his landmark work, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine), and he's published a number of books and papers since then, his most recent book I think came out last year.
8. The content failed verification against Morris, Pappe, and even Karsh -- none of them, as far as I can tell, characterize it as "back and forth retaliatory violence" that "escalated" or "increased" in 1947. They characterize it differently. Especially Pappe's more recent works. The other sources at #Core sources also characterize it differently.
9. It's strange to say "the back and forth violence escalated" when the article doesn't talk about any "back and forth violence" (simply hasn't been added yet)
10. Not sure if you're aware of this, but in Wikipedia's organization, 1948 Palestine war is the parent article of the two phases, which are 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine and 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Right now, the Nakba article just links to the parent article.

Of course, the Nakba article should be (and will be) expanded to include more detail about the war, including detailing the two parts and probably linking to those two articles. However, that has to be done in a way that's WP:DUE, which means looking at which details are included in multiple sources about Nakba. This is not an article about the '48 war, and details that are DUE for the '48 war articles may not be DUE for the Nakba article (e.g, Lehi mining train tracks; siege of Jerusalem). Everything else in the History section is cited to multiple core sources, intentionally so. Expansions should as well, it's how we know what's DUE. Obviously, pre-48 violence would be DUE, as would the change in violence between 47 and 49. But those details, in order to be stated in WP:WIKIVOICE as they should be, need to be the details that are widely discussed by recent mainstream scholarship about the Nakba (and not just Israeli authors, but all authors). (Of course that's all just, like, my opinion, man; other editors may disagree.) Levivich (talk) 21:32, 10 December 2023 (UTC)

Found a place where we can shout out to other editors to look at these changes and opine. I know it has just been a few reverts, but I am a casual, newb. I just don't know what phrasing or refs would meet your requests. I need to get others who are more dedicated to (and more energized with) WP to opine:

1. Your point 2 says newspapers are too old, while your point 3 says newspapers are too new.
2. Other points of yours talk about books being too old, or that authors have written later books, or that we cannot quote French translations;
   • I am not aware of any WP article saying "If an author has written a more recent work, don't cite their earlier work" (Does Pappe's later writings contradict their earlier writings?!)
   • Nor is there a "go find the English translation" rule (. . . as far as I know . . .)
3. Yes, "retaliatory" is my word, but I do not think it is an unfair summation of "in response to" and "reprisal".
4. Also, yes, I said "escalated"; I suppose I could have used "increased" but I do not know if you would accept that since you could have just changed it; Honestly, I do not think it is OR to summarize:
   • The execution of a family at the start of a year;
   • Then, over the course of a year, examples such as the murder of people on a bus, attacks in a market place, a workplace mob, etc.
   • Then, by the end of the year, the mining of railroads and the siege of a Jewish enclave.

   as "escalating violence" (or "increasing")

5. As for undue, it is a couple sentences in one section that is supposed to talk about what was happenning before and a sentence at the start of the next section so that people could start from there, directly, and still have a little context. I do not think a few sentences is undue weight.

As it stands, we just start with the Nakba and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villagers. The casual reader would see this and not know that violence had already been erupting between militant groups in the lead up -- In fact, I was the casual reader (Led to read this article after somebody claimed things were fine between the groups before the brits pulled out) but, while reading other coverage, I saw that "Oh, there actually was violence between Jewish and Palestinian militants before 1948"

• I do not think giving that context would be taken as an excuse for the ethnic cleansing by anybody, if that is what is really worrying you.
• At least, not anybody reasonable! :-D No more so than mentioning we were at war with Japan could reasonably be seen as an excuse for us rounding up Japanese civilians in America and stealing their property.

Forgot to sign on 03:28, 12 December 2023 --Bertrc (talk) 00:26, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

(Disclosure--I do have a COI on this subject, that being my personal opinion)

I think that it is absurd not to provide any context on inter-ethnic violence in the region beforehand. The article describes the history of Jewish emigration to Palestine in the 1890's, so why can't it also describe the 1921 Jaffa riots, the 1929 Palestine riots, and the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt?
Those all seem much more related to the subject, and provide way more context to the situation than a history of Jewish migration. For comparison, take a look at the article on the Rwanda genocide, which provides copious amounts of information on the history of Rwanda, and this provides a more complete image of the situation leading up to the massacre.

As for poor citation style, I'm pretty sure that citations only need to support the thing they're being cited for, so as long as the citation is verifiable, and there are plenty of verifiable citations on the events listed above, then the content should be allowed to stay.

AriTheHorse^{talk to me!} 05:19, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

AriTheHorse, :-D Everybody has that particular COI!  ;-) As long as you are not quoting your own published book, I think you can make your edits. Just back them with reliable sources. --Bertrc (talk) 14:32, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

• Yeah I meant like religion/worldview but I think now even that one is hard to avoid.

  AriTheHorse^{talk to me!} 04:16, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

@AriTheHorse:, I re-added my change (and fixed two refs that were displaying incorrectly) Does that meet your view in a balanced way? --Bertrc (talk) 03:58, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

I took a look, it seems fine.

AriTheHorse^{talk to me!} 04:31, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

@AriTheHorse:, Well, no such luck. In spite of your third opinion and your support for the changes, the edit war continues. My edits were blindly reverted (this time, with no comment in this discussion). I will reraise the request for additional third opinions. --Bertrc (talk) 03:24, 25 December 2023

3O request  Declined. More than two editors are involved already. You need to look at other ways to resolve your dispute. Polyamorph (talk) 07:59, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

@Polyamorph:, I would love any recommendations for other ways. How is third opinion different from "Request for Comment" and " Dispute Noticeboard"? (Yes, I really am a wikipedia lightweight)--Bertrc (talk) 14:28, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

3OR is an informal process where there is a content dispute between two editors, a third opinion can be provided. It's meant to break deadlock between two users. Once more than two users are involved it is no longer appropriate. If the dispute continues then the dispute resolution noticeboard is probably your next best option if agreement can't be reached on this talk page. If editor conduct is becoming problematic then you can let admins know at WP:ANI or WP:AN/3RR. Polyamorph (talk) 14:51, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

So you're only concerned with Bertrc's citation style and have no objection to the meaning behind his additions?

AriTheHorse^{talk to me!}

13:13, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

@Levivich: did not give any specifics, this time (I had fixed the ref links that displayed badly; which ones are misrepresented or unreliable? The comment says "see talk" but I only see talk entries added about timeline sections and victim percentages; ie. no comment in this discussion) Levivich disliked my use of "escalating violence", last time. I used "increasing violence" this time, since "escalating" might imply deliberately hitting back harder; perhaps Levivich considers using "increasing violence" when describing a change from targetted executions to a siege to be OR . . . I can try using "occurred" --Bertrc (talk) 14:28, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

The sources that are misrepresented in the content I removed are Pappe, Morris, and Karsh, and the sources that are unreliable are the newspapers, as I said above two weeks ago. (And you didn't fix the refs, although ref formatting is the least of the problems with that content.) Levivich (talk) 16:14, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Not sure how anyone could read my comment above with 10 numbered items and conclude that I am only concerned with citation style. Citation style was just 1 out of the 10 items. The content I removed in this edit is basically the same as the content I had removed two weeks ago, which I explained in detail in my comment above. To recap:

• "Attacks and counter attacks between Jewish and Palestinian groups increased throughout 1947" fails verification and is contracted by other (frankly, better) RSes (such as those cited in the History section of the article)
• "By year’s end, the Palestinian leader, Amin al-Husseini was besieging a Jewish enclave in Jerusalem while the Jewish militia, Lehi, was mining train tracks" is not WP:DUE and also poorly sourced
• "The increasing violence escalated into a civil war" fails verification/is contradicted by other RSes in that same paragraph, and especially should not appear after the sentence "The central facts of the Nakba in 1948 are not disputed" because "increasing violence escalated into a civil war" isn't one of the central facts that is not disputed -- there are a lot of scholars who say it was a preplanned ethnic cleansing, not some natural escalation of preexisting violence
• Generally, newspapers are not acceptable source for history of the Nakba (except current events of course), especially 1940s newspapers

Look at how everything else in that section is sourced -- multiple 21st-century scholarly works by Israeli, Palestinian, and "neither" scholars. These are the kinds of sources to use for summarizing Nakba history. They don't support "both-sides-ism" or "natural escalation" characterizations. Levivich (talk) 16:11, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

@Levivich:Dispute resolution request raised. When we are mentioning increasing violence (or even just mentioning that violence existed) I do not believe it is undue weight to mention the mining of train tracks or a blockade and siege of a tens of thousands of Jews in Jerusalem; both of which are documented. --Bertrc (talk) 17:03, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

@Bertrc, this is coming from someone who has little understanding of the subject and simply stumbled across the issue: You are frustrated that Old newspapers are too old; new newspapers are too new; 20th century authors are not acceptable; earlier works by authors who may have written later works are rejected; don't reference French works, which I get, but that's pretty typical for how we have to assess sources in areas such as this one.

What in general we really want to see is the best possible sources: recent peer-reviewed academic works, preferably in their original language (and if that original language is English and accessible, of course definitely in English rather than a translation). Certainly earlier works by authors who may have written later works are rejected is because historians' views change over time. Re:new newspapers are too new applies when these newer (or older, for that matter) newspaper articles are discussing academic works: newspapers interpret things incorrectly, so if we have the academic article, we use that instead of what newspapers are saying. When we're dealing with anything contentious, these best-possible sources are particularly valued.

FWIW, we do understand that you are less experienced, we do understand that we have a steep learning curve that can be very frustrating, and we do want to work with you and help you understand why certain sources are preferred. Valereee (talk) 18:56, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

@Valereee: Sure, I would agree that your position is applicable if we were deciding which sources to use.

1. If your position was the true reason/motivation behind the disagreement/reverts, then I would have expected the other editor to have been editing the article with preferred/better sources; I would not have expected a blind revert. I do not see how the existence of better or preferred sources requires the reversion of edits with sufficient sourcing.
2. If there were more reliable sources saying that no significant violence existed in mandatory Palestine before the Nakba, then I would have expected those sources to be referenced. However, there are no sources that I am aware of nor that people have referenced which contradict that there was recurring violence in mandatory Palestine in 1947 before the Nakba. Instead, we have numerous sources describing the violence

Instead, we are having somebody blindly reverting changes that have valid sources, rather than having edits that give better/more common sources. --Bertrc (talk) 23:12, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Hey, @Bertrc, let's stop using the term "blindly reverting", as that is not assuming good faith on the part of the other editors. Let's also stop talking about the "reason/motivation behind" an edit, ditto. Without clear evidence, we don't discuss the motivations of other editors.

If a subject, especially a contentious one, has been heavily addressed in recent peer-reviewed academic sources, those are always going to be the sources we are looking for. Those are the sources that are sufficient for contentious topics, where there is disagreement over content and there's a need to persuade other editors. Valereee (talk) 23:31, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

1. I have been "editing the article with preferred/better sources" for a few months now. 2. To take one example: the content I removed, Attacks and counter attacks between Jewish and Palestinian groups increased throughout 1947 ... The increasing violence escalated into a civil war was sourced to, among other sources, a 2000 French translation of some book by Ilan Pappe. I can't figure out which Pappe book was translated. But Pappe 2022 at p. 118 says:

On 29 November 1947, UNSCOP presented its recommendations to the UN General Assembly ... The next day brought the first outburst of intra-communal violence, activated by hot-headed youth on both sides ... A slow deterioration into a widespread civil war in the next few months ...

The content "increase throughout 1947" is contradicted by the source "first outburst of intra-communal violence" happening on 30 Nov 1947. The source "Slow deterioration into a widespread civil war in the next few months" isn't really the same characterization as the content "increasing violence escalated into a civil war." This fails verification. Levivich (talk) 00:07, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

BTW the prior page of that same book, p. 117, says this:

In the months of the UNSCOP deliberations, life in Palestine continued much in the same pattern as it had since the end of World War II. The rural areas were now more stable, as the number of people leaving them decreased. They were also less affected by Zionist settlement. The Jewish effort was directed to uncultivated land in the northern tip of Palestine’s desert, the Negev, and to other areas allowed by the restrictions of the White Paper of 1939 and thus was experienced less in the heart of the region. The towns continued to be sites of bi-national cohabitation and economic interaction opposed strongly by the political leaderships on both sides ... Such ordinariness was an illusion ... Since May 1946, the Zionist leadership had been preparing itself for what it saw as a final showdown with the local population. There was no clear blueprint until 1948, but there was a clear mindset that went back to the 1930s when Zionist leaders had, as one of many options for a solution, begun toying with the idea of an enforced eviction of the local Palestinian population. The difference now was that the Palestinian refusal to accept a UN solution provided a pretext for implementing a systematic expulsion of the local population within the areas allocated for a Jewish state, areas already demarcated in the UNSCOP report.

This is not a characterization of "Attacks and counter attacks between Jewish and Palestinian groups increased throughout 1947" that "escalated into a civil war," but rather of a pre-planned expulsion, which is sort of Ilan Pappe's entire thesis, that the Nakba was The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Levivich (talk) 00:14, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Cool to see we can access it digitally. How did you track that down? I can check if I can find digital copies of the other sources:

1. The Arab–Israeli Conflict – The Palestine War 1948, 2002 by Efraim Karsh
2. The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, 2003, by Benny Morris

(Both are the English versions)

--Bertrc (talk) 00:33, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Okay, I think I found some on-line copies of Benny Morris' "Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Crisis Revisited" from 2004, although it is images, rather than cut-and-pasteable text (Did you transcribe all that?! Or is there a way to get the text?):

1. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_the_Palestinian_Refugee_Pro/uM_kFX6edX8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA65&printsec=frontcover
2. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_the_Palestinian_Refugee_Pro/uM_kFX6edX8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA139&printsec=frontcover

Morris talks about retaliation, repeatedly, but that is not particularly material. Would you feel the following phrasing is supported by the sources:

Prior to 1948

. . .

Attacks between Jewish and Palestinian groups began in late 1947.

1948

The central facts of the Nakba in 1948 are not disputed. The violence in late 1947 deteriorated into a civil war. During this and the subsequent regional war, approximately 750,000 Palestinians—over 80% of the population in what would become Israel—were expelled or fled from their homes and became refugees in neighboring states. Bertrc (talk) 01:07, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Click on the "Pappe 2022" link in my comment, which should take you to the citation up above at #Core sources. At the end of the citation is another link, "TWL link," which will take you to Pappe 2022 at WP:TWL; all editors have access to it for free.

I don't think Karsh 2002 is a great source for the reasons I said above, but that book, at page 10 says: 1947 ... 30 November Arab violence begins. Does not support "increased throughout 1947." The citation in the content I removed was to page 30. I see nothing on page 30 that supports that. But page 29 says Violence came to Palestine within hours of the UN vote on partition. And page 34 says In mid-December 1947, a fortnight after the outbreak of inter-communal violence, which is what Pappe says, too.

Morris 2004 and Morris 2008 both describe the Fajja bus attack as the first violence of the war; I don't see anything in either that supports "increased throughout 1947."

Do you have these sources? Levivich (talk) 01:13, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

In my latest suggested text, I did not use the word "increasing". I do say it "deteriorated into civil war" but that was from the Pappe snippet you provided. --Bertrc (talk) 01:18, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Do you have the sources that were cited in your edits? Levivich (talk) 01:23, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Well . . . yeah . . . at least I think so . . . The references you and I mentioned above:

1. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_the_Palestinian_Refugee_Pro/uM_kFX6edX8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA65&printsec=frontcover
2. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Birth_of_the_Palestinian_Refugee_Pro/uM_kFX6edX8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA139&printsec=frontcover
3. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_Modern_Palestine/rrttEAAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA118

seem to support the edits I am proposing:

Prior to 1948 section

. . .

Attacks between Jewish and Palestinian groups began in late 1947.

1948 section

The central facts of the Nakba in 1948 are not disputed. The violence in late 1947 deteriorated into a civil war. During this and the subsequent regional war, approximately 750,000 Palestinians—over 80% of the population in what would become Israel—were expelled or fled from their homes and became refugees in neighboring states

(Note: I haven't actually made those edits, yet. I am proposing them here, before I add them) --Bertrc (talk) 01:30, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Are you working from Google previews, or do you actually have the books? Morris 2008, page 76, says the civil war began at 8:20 am on 30 Nov 1947, that's not accurately summarized by "the violence in late 1947 deteriorated into a civil war." Levivich (talk) 01:45, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

I was pulling the phrase "civil war" from Pappe. I was simply using Morris as an additional source for the start of violence. Would you want to simply say:

During the civil and subsequent regional war, approximately 750,000 Palestinians—over 80% of the population in what would become Israel—were expelled or fled from their homes and became refugees in neighboring states

Personally, I feel that would imply that it was purely the wars that drove the Nakba, which I think is inaccurate, as it discounts a lot of targetted attacks on Palestinians that was independent of the wars. However, I fully admit that that is just my opinion (which is why I didn't phrase it like that)

*sigh* I honestly don't know what phrasing you think would be appropriate and/or if you simply do not think any mention of contextual violence should be included. As I have said, I am a wikipedia lightweight; I do wish you would either make an edit attempt or say that contextual violence should not be mentioned. As it is, I feel like trying to guess your position or preference is like trying to solve the halting problem (Yes, I know that solving the halting problem is impossible  :-D ) --Bertrc (talk) 02:12, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

I don't know what phrasing I think would be appropriate because while I've read enough to know your edits failed verification, I haven't yet read enough about violence in Nov 1947 to really have an opinion about what's exactly WP:DUE and what the WP:NPOV summary of it would be. That's why I didn't add anything to the article about it yet. When I get to it, I'll get to it.

We've now thoroughly explored how the content I removed failed verification, and I'm going go back to what I was doing, and I think you should pick another article to work on, one where you have access to the best sources for the topic, which does not seem to be the case here. Levivich (talk) 02:33, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, I guess you are right. I am a bit too much of a dilettante with wikipedia. I cannot bring myself to commit to it sufficiently and nobody else seems to care enough to chime in on the subject. The article is all yours. --Bertrc (talk) 02:40, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

typo

the second paragraph of the 'Terminology' section includes a quote in rather clumsy english, beginning "How Can I call it but Nakba?" could someone at least change the C in 'Can' to a lower case c, and perhaps clean up the sentence a little. thank you Potholehotline (talk) 03:06, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

The quotation is verbatim from the source, even with the capital-C "Can." I fixed that and made a copyedit that hopefully explains what the author meant by that sentence. Levivich (talk) 04:17, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Who started the 1948 war?

In the history section, the article states: "In 1947, in the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, the United Nations partitioned Mandatory Palestine, leading to the 1948 Palestine war and the creation of the State of Israel". It seems relevant to me to mention that it was the Arab armies who started this war. ShaiGoldman18 (talk) 18:31, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

That's not what the sources say. I think you're confusing (what Wikipedia calls) the 1948 Palestine war with (what Wikipedia calls) the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which is the second part of the 1948 Palestine war. For either one, "who started it" is a very complex issue and RSes do not agree on one answer, which is why I phrased that sentence in a way that avoids stating in Wikipedia's voice who was responsible for starting it. Levivich (talk) 18:45, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I could be misreading, but both of the Wikipedia articles you linked describe the Arab armies invading/attacking Israel as the first offensive move of the war ShaiGoldman18 (talk) 19:56, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Aside from WP:Wikipedia is not a reliable source, where in the article 1948 Palestine war does it say Arab armies made the first offensive move of the 1948 Palestine war? Levivich (talk) 20:43, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I see now that I was extrapolating from "Partition was accepted by the Jewish leadership, but rejected by Palestinian Arab leaders and the Arab states." But you are right that this doesn't quite say what I said it said. ShaiGoldman18 (talk) 20:45, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

According to Britannica’s page https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Israeli-wars

” Clashes broke out almost immediately between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, beginning with the Arab ambush of a bus carrying Jewish passengers from Netanya to Jerusalem on November 30. “ Wafflefrites (talk) 06:47, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Britannica is wrong. The bus ambush was a response to the Shubaki family assassination, which took place a few days prior to the UN vote. There had been no Jewish-Arab violence for months beforehand. The “clashes broke out after the vote” is a propaganda narrative intended to blame “Arab rejectionism” for the war. Onceinawhile (talk) 06:59, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for responding, I appreciate it. But respectfully, it says on Britannica that “ On November 29, 1947, the United Nations (UN) voted to partition the British mandate of Palestine” and the Shubaki family assassination was on November 19, 1947, ten days before the UN vote.

But yes, I understand there were retaliatory massacres and atrocities committed by both sides just like in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). Wafflefrites (talk) 07:09, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

This was just discussed in another thread above; see Morris 2008 p. 76 for details. Levivich (talk) 07:28, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

From that page, technically, Morris does call the bus ambush casualties “The first dead of the 1947 war.” But he does acknowledge that majority view is that the bus ambush was driven by a desire to avenge. Morris also states, “there was also a clear, organized Palestinian Arab response to the UN resolution.” On Dec. 1, it was a strike, and on Dec. 2, it was “a large Arab mob, armed with clubs and knives” led by two AHC officials. Morris then proceeds to write that the mob eventually turned back after wounding some people and encountering the Haganah “But the war had begun”. Wafflefrites (talk) 08:24, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Hopefully we can all agree from this that the narrative line "the Arabs started the civil war because they rejected the UN vote" is a gross misrepresentation.

That line is used by propagandists to "blame" Palestinians for "starting" the conflict. "If only they hadn't been so antisemitic, they could have had a Dubai on the Mediterranean!" Onceinawhile (talk) 08:32, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

That’s not how I see it, I see it “if only they could have predicted the future and accepted the plan, they could have had a larger territory.” Instead neighboring Arab states were involved (with the exception of Jordan) and went to war with Israel, and the war increased Israel’s territory.

Also it would not have been a Dubai. The Jewish state had a “more advanced agricultural and industrial position” In the 1920s they built roads, irrigated and ameliorated land. The Shaw Commission acknowledged that Jewish development "has conferred material benefits upon Palestine in which the Arab people share.” https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80859e/80859E05.htm Wafflefrites (talk) 15:11, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

We are straying away from the question posed in this section. Which I think has been answered. Selfstudier (talk) 15:13, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

It is however a good reminder that our articles on the 1948 war are not clear enough on these points. Another example just now - Wafflefrites's 15:11 comment shows they weren't aware of the status prior to the Arab armies stepping in (hundreds of thousands of Arabs expelled, and the Jewish military well over the partition plan lines with e.g. Jaffa and West Jerusalem taken over). Onceinawhile (talk) 15:33, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Yeah, at least partly that can be improved by expanding this article to include debunked Nakba myths, probably in the Nakba denial section. Levivich (talk) 16:22, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

The way you frame the question is biased. In fact, what happened is that within a few days of winning the 29 Nov 1947 UN vote on the partition of Palestine, Jewish terrorists launched a massive wave of terrorist atrocities. There were terrorist atrocities committed by both sides, but the terrorist Jews killed about three times as many civilians from 2 Dec 1947 onwards. For example, see War Office file 275/109, Public Record Office, London, as quoted in The Encyclopaedia of the Palestine Problem, by Issa Nakhleh, chapter 6, just a small sample:

'2 DECEMBER 1947: Khisas village. 1 Arab civilian shot dead by Jewish Gaffir from Beit Hillel approximately 1200 hours. TJFF Huleh patrols increased. WO 275/46

3 DECEMBER 1947... Morning 3 December. Several Arab shops in Harcarmel Street Mashiya Quarter of Jaffa set on fire by Jews.

031500B 14 year old Arab boy shot from passing Jewish taxi in Yazur village MR 131169 on main road Jaffa- Jerusalem.

031630B Arab boy seriously injured by shot fired from Jewish bus passing through Al Qubab village MR 145 15 1 on main road Jaffa-Jerusalem.

3 DECEMBER 1947: Jews set fire to Arab Garage in Commercial Centre. Two Arabs shot near Zion Gate. WO 261/571

4 DECEMBER 1947: 30 Jews attacked an orange grove Alkheiriya 133160, threw hand grenades and fired shots. 1 Arab slightly wounded. WO 261/571

5 DECEMBER 1947: At 1000 hours, two Palestine policemen escorting Arab curfew breakers in Tel Aviv set upon and stabbed by Jews. 2 Palestine policemen seriously injured. 1 Jew slightly injured. WO 261/571

6 DECEMBER 1947: At 0915 hours Jewish youths attacked three Arabs in Halutz Street, Haifa. Police dispersed crowd. 1 Arab dead. WO 261/571

6 DECEMBER 1947: At 1000 hours gang of Jews killed an Arab in Hashomer Street, Haifa. 1 Arab killed. WO 261/571

6 DECEMBER 1947: 1 Infantry Division, at 1550 hours, the occupants of a PU travelling down Hassan Bey Road, Tel Aviv, threw a bomb into an Arab shop which caught fire. Some casualties, number unknown. They then opened fire at a Police armoured car which gave chase and caught the PU in the Agro Bank Road. One Jewish occupant of the PU was seriously wounded, the remaining five escaped. One pistol, 3 Sten magazines and some gun cotton were found in the PU. WO 261/571

6 DECEMBER 1947. At 1550 hours bomb thrown in Arab shop in Hassan Bey Road from car which was chased and captured by Police. Car contained one Jew, seriously injured, a pistol, Sten mags and gun cotton. 2 Arabs killed. 5 Arabs injured. WO 261/571

6 DECEMBER 1947... At Yemen Steps a party of Jews directed automatic fire and threw a grenade at Arabs. One Arab was seriously wounded in the stomach... At Bab Silsileh, on the borders of the Jewish Quarter, Old City, a hand grenade was thrown from the Jewish Quarter into an Arab house. The following casualties resulted: one Arab dead, two Arabs seriously injured and one Arab injured (not seriously). WO 275/64

9 DECEMBER 1947: At 2330 hours, Jews entered Arab village Paratiya 12111173 and blew up one house. WO 261/571

9 DECEMBER 1947: Jews damaged Christian Arab houses Herzl Street. WO 261/571

10 DECEMBER 1947... At 0615 on 11 December, a Jewish lorry opened fire on a group of Arabs at Balad El Sheikh, killing two. At 1330 hours an Arab bus was blown up by a bomb thrown from a passing car, and 5 Arabs were killed and 21 injured. Late that night Jews dressed in Military uniforms and travelling in a jeep and 15 cwt truck attacked At Tira village causing considerable damage and killing 12 Arabs. Another attack against the Military, this time on the Mountain road, caused the death of a Corporal. WO 275/46

11 DECEMBER 1947: 1320 hours, Jews in taxi on Bat Gallim Haifa road threw bombs and injured 3 youths. WO 261/571

11 DECEMBER 1947: 1335 hours, bomb thrown under Arab bus Kingsway, Haifa. 4 Arabs killed, and 12 injured. WO 261/57 1

11 DECEMBER 1947: 1945 hours, engagement between Jews and Arabs on Mount Scopus-Nablus road Jerusalem at Shufat. Under cover of fire Jews entered village dressed as soldiers and police and tried to blow up houses. 2 unexploded grenades and some dynamite later found in village by Palestine Police. WO 26l/57l

11 DECEMBER 1947: 2245 hours, party of Jews wearing military type uniform attacked at Tirya 14802410. 1 house destroyed, and 5 houses damaged. 12 Arabs killed and 6 Arabs injured. 15 cwt and jeep used in attack made with grenades and LA fire. WO 26 1 /57 1

11 DECEMBER 1947: Grenades thrown in Ramle during night and automatic fire directed at a garage by Jews in a taxi. WO 261/57 1

12 DECEMBER 1947: 6 AB Division, at 2245 hours, 1 1 December, party of Jews wearing military-type uniforms attacked the Northwest corner of Mount Tira at 14802410. Some of the party came down from hills on foot, while some came in a 15 cwt truck and a jeep along the main road. They attacked six houses with grenades and small arms fire. One house completely destroyed and others damaged. Known casualties - Arabs - 12 killed and 6 injured. WO 261/571

12 DECEMBER 1947: 252 FS Sec., 12 December. At 0900 hours, Jews threw grenades at a garage behind Rex Cinema, Jerusalem. Casualties: 2 Arabs injured. WO 275/64

12 DECEMBER 1947: Incident between Jews and Lebanese at approximately 1400 hours. 1 grenade thrown by Jews wounding 1 Lebanese civilian. Both parties withdrew. No further casualties. WO 275/46

12 DECEMBER 1947: Arab shot in Orah Cinema Gabriel Street, Haifa. WO 261/57 1

13 DECEMBER 1947: 1220 hours, bombs thrown and small arms fire directed at Arab crowd from Jewish taxi near Damascus Gate, Jerusalem. Killed - 4 Arabs and 1 Jew. Wounded - 15 Arabs and 2 British constables. Crowd killed 1 Jew, slightly injured 2 British constables trying to keep order. Taxi and owner arrested; 3 other occupants escaped. WO 261/571

13 DECEMBER 1947: Five armed Jews using Black Fargo tender attacked Cafe King George Avenue, Jaffa. Cafe and other buildings extensively damaged. 6 Arabs killed. 15 Arabs seriously wounded. 21 Arabs wounded. Tender had been stolen in Petah Tiqva at 1300 hours. WO 261/571

13 DECEMBER 1947: 1 Infantry Division, 13 December. Sound of heavy explosion at Al Yehudia village 139159. Bombs were thrown by attackers followed by heavy Small Arms fire. Arabs report attack carried out by 4 truck loads of Jews reported to be wearing K.D. Coldm Gds emergency platoon, sent to scene found police armoured car being fired upon. Casualties: 6 Arabs killed, one Arab seriously wounded and 12 Arabs wounded. Firing ceased 1520 hours. WO 275/64

13 DECEMBER 1947: Four truck loads armed Jews dressed in KD attacked Al Yehudiya 139159 with bombs and small arms fire. 6 Arabs killed, 15 Arabs seriously wounded and 21 Arabs slightly wounded. Police armoured car fired on. Order restored on appearance Coldm Gds emergency police. WO 261/571

13 DECEMBER 1947: Two Arabs wounded in Manshiya Quarter, Tel Aviv, during afternoon. WO 261/571

13 DECEMBER 1947: G (Int), 13 December. Bombs were thrown at stationary buses at Damascus Gate, Jerusalem, from car containing Jew who also opened up Small Arms fire on the crowd. Casualties probably higher than previously estimated. One Jew manhandled and killed by crowd. Car containing Jews apprehended. WO 275164

14 DECEMBER 1947: 01 30 hours Jews attacked Arabs in Tel Arish Quarter on Tel Aviv J Jaffa bdy. Troops called to scene and order restored. WO 261/571

14 DECEMBER 1947: 0320 hours bombs thrown at Arab cinema, Haifa. WO 261/571

14 DECEMBER 1947: At approximately 0700 hours 3 Jews fired on Arab bus 199213. Bus stopped, passengers ordered out. Bus then set on fire. Total casualties 3 Arabs wounded, one seriously. Additional patrols by TJFF and 3rd Hussars. WO 275/46

14 DECEMBER 1947: 6 AB Division, at 0700 hours, at 199213,3 Jews stopped a civilian bus. They fired several rounds into bus and ordered passengers out. They then set fire to the bus and escaped in a taxi. Casualties - 1 Arab seriously wounded, one Arab slightly injured. Arab reaction is expected. Half squadron TJFF and 1 Troop of 3 H have proceeded to Beisan. WO 261/571

14 DECEMBER 1947: 0700 hours Jews stopped civilian bus area Beisan 199213. They fired several shots into bus then ordered passengers out, set fire to bus and escaped in taxi. 1 Arab seriously injured. 1 Arab slightly injured. WO 261/571'

The Arab nations launched a humanitarian intervention to halt the genocide after the Brits just walked away it on 14 May 1948. MathewMunro (talk) 03:21, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

This list should start with Shubaki family assassination. Onceinawhile (talk) 06:59, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Ongoing Nakba

Should the sentence in the lead "the ongoing persecution and displacement of Palestinians" be made into a wikilink to ongoing Nakba?, and the sentence "Some consider the Nakba to be an ongoing phenomenon" be removed?

- IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 19:54, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Yup. Levivich (talk) 20:02, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Not supported with evidence “Zionists said yes to the plan, with plans to take more”

The sentence, as provided above, is subjective, and has no evidence to support it. Mayazauberman1 (talk) 05:55, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Not sure how the sentence could be "subjective".

And it's very well sourced. Check the footnote at the end of the sentence (which even highlights the relevant quotations from the sources).

IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 09:16, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

https://imgur.com/a/9QTiSI2

- IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 09:24, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Ok, thank you 2A06:C701:752A:9400:B9C3:16BC:2B33:F1CC (talk) 11:47, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 22 January 2024

The text: violent displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people, along with the destruction of their society, culture, identity, political rights, and national aspirations.

Is incorrect and doesn’t represent the meaning of the word Naqba, as was coined by Zureiq. The term now became everything but the real meaning which is the DEFEAT of the Arab armies. This is done to hide the real meaning because of “honor” or “disgrace” related issues.

Mr. Zureiq in his 1948 book, The Meaning of the Disaster, said, “The defeat of the Arabs in Palestine is not a small downfall – naksa … It is a catastrophe – nakba – in every sense of the word.”

Either add the original meaning, or change the false added narrative. Sprmni (talk) 02:46, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

 Not done - This article isn't about the Nakba as it was understood in 1948, it's about the Nakba as it is understood today. The meaning of the word has changed over the years. The evolution of the term, and Zureiq's work, are covered in the (incomplete) section Nakba § Terminology. Levivich (talk) 03:06, 22 January 2024 (UTC)

Nakba times and types

I was thinking about reorganizing the #Outline (and thus the article) a bit and would like to solicit feedback. All labels below are my own shorthand; I'm not suggesting we use those labels in article space (nor that every bullet point should be a whole subsection; some just a paragraph, case-by-case). Here is how I envision the logical organization and grouping/division of time periods of the Nakba, and types or components of Nakba:

Nakba time periods

1881-1947: pre-Nakba 1881-1922: Ottoman Palestine period pre-1881: pre-Zionist era (pre-1881) 1881-1904: early Zionist era, from First Aliyah to Second Aliyah 1904-1917: pre-Balfour era, from Second Aliyah to Balfour Declaration 1917-1922: post-Balfour era, from Balfour to the establishment of Mandatory Palestine 1922-1947: Mandatory Palestine period 1922-1929: early Mandate era, from establishment of Mandatory Palestine to 1929 Palestine riots/Hope Simpson Enquiry/Passfield white paper 1929-1936: Simpson era, from Hope Simpson Enquiry to 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine 1936-1939: Revolt era 1939-1947: WWII era, including post-WWII until partition 1947-1949: the 1948 Nakba period Feb 1947-Nov 1947: from announcement of end of Mandate until Resolution 181 Nov 1947-April 1948: from Resolution 181 to Plan Dalet April-May 14 1948: from Plan Dalet to end of Mandate/Israeli declaration of independence/Arab League invasion whatever May 15-July 1948: from Arab League whatever to second truce July-October 1948: the ceasefire months October-December 1948: final battles January 1949-July 1949: armistice negotiations 1949-present: ongoing Nakba 1949-1967: military governance period 1949-1956: from armistices to Suez Crisis 1956-1967: from Suez Crisis to Six-Day War 1967-1987: Naksa period 1967-1982: from Six-Day War to Sabra and Shatila massacre 1982-1987: from Sabra and Shatila to First Intifada 1987-2000: First Intifada period 1987-1993: pre-Oslo Accords 1993-2000: post-Oslo 2000-present: Second Intifada period 2000-2005: from Second Intifada to the Gaza withdrawal and blockade 2005-2023: this is where it gets tough, is this one period? The Gaza Wars period? 2023-present: 2023 Gaza war (it's my outline I can call it what I want) definitely demarcates a new period in the history of the Nakba, right? This is the "2023 Nakba period"? Given that at this point the number of dead and displaced are as high or higher than 1948, that makes it a lvl-1 bullet point in this outline, right?

Nakba types/components

Expulsion-flight Nakba: the "traditional" Nakba that is commonly and incorrectly believed to be the only type or component of Nakba Violent Nakba: massacres and other violence Return Nakba: preventing those who were expelled/fled from returning Bulldozer Nakba: destruction of Palestinian homes, villages, etc. Infiltrator Nakba: could also be categorized under "violent Nakba" Economic Nakba: economic losses or economic harms Land Nakba: loss of land Employment Nakba: what Wolfe calls "Conquest of Labor," plus employment restrictions in military governance period and in occupied territories Looting Nakba: looting of Palestinian tangible property (looting of homes, business, etc.) Bank Nakba: appropriation of Palestinian bank accounts (and sometimes the banks themselves) Social Nakba: loss of societies, aka "fragmentation" or "scattering" a community/society, diving them, preventing them from physically gathering and/or communicating Cultural Nakba: loss of culture Antiquities Nakba: looting and destruction of antiquities Archaeological Nakba: looting, destruction, or misappropriation of archaeological sites Name Nakba: loss of identity; removing Palestinian names from maps, history books, etc.; renaming places with Hebrew names; aka "memoricide" Political Nakba: loss of political rights and freedoms State Nakba: loss/prevention of Palestinian state and national aspirations generally Rights Nakba: laws giving Palestinians less rights than others Election Nakba: undue election interference Nakba denial Forest Nakba: reforestation Archives Nakba: destroying or sealing documents that evidence Nakba Nakba myths: aka propaganda Textbook Nakba: revision in education curriculum Nakba Law

What do people think of this organization? Anything missing, or shouldn't be listed, or described/grouped wrong? Thanks in advance, Levivich (talk) 19:55, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

Categories

@LegalSmeagolian: Per WP:CATPOV, Categorization must also maintain a neutral point of view. Categorizations appear on article pages without annotations or referencing to justify or explain their addition; editors should be conscious of the need to maintain a neutral point of view when creating categories or adding them to articles. Categorizations should generally be uncontroversial; if the category's topic is likely to spark controversy, then a list article (which can be annotated and referenced) is probably more appropriate. For example, a politician (not convicted of any crime) should not be added to a category of notable criminals.

Given that we don't even include the claim that this was a genocide attributed, let alone in Wikivoice which is what would be required to meet CATPOV, it's not appropriate to include these categories. Please self-revert. BilledMammal (talk) 03:13, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Where does CATPOV require that it be in wikivoice? LegalSmeagolian (talk) 03:33, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Categorizations appear on article pages without annotations or referencing to justify or explain their addition; editors should be conscious of the need to maintain a neutral point of view when creating categories or adding them to articles. BilledMammal (talk) 03:40, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Your recent addition appears to be WP:UNDUE for the lede - it's not even mentioned in the body, and I'm not convinced that two historians holding a debate is WP:DUE there either. BilledMammal (talk) 03:49, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Ethnic cleansing

Ethnic cleansing claim is supported by dozens of source while the dispute of it is only sourced by Benny Morris, which he even argues was only a partial ethnic cleansing. Seems like we are giving the disputing narrative undue weight as a fringe point of view. Makeandtoss (talk) 10:07, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. LegalSmeagolian (talk) 12:49, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. I think we should say it in wikivoice. "The Nakba is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians" is what I think the first sentence of this article should be, based on the sentence in the body that lists all the scholars who've said that, which, IMO, shows that this is the mainstream view. It's a more succinct and clear explanation of what the word means than the current first sentence (which, again IMO, is basically a definition of "ethnic cleansing"... "violent displacement," etc.). Levivich (talk) 13:54, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

True, especially your last sentence. Makeandtoss (talk) 09:38, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Agreed BilledMammal (talk) 10:38, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. Skitash (talk) 14:26, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

@IOHANNVSVERVS: The use of quotes in the opening paragraph is inappropriate. Makeandtoss (talk) 11:07, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Is that some sort of policy or guideline? IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 11:10, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

You have my permission to remove the quotation marks if you're concerned about 1RR. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 13:00, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

@IOHANNVSVERVS: MOS:OPEN: "The first paragraph should define or identify the topic with a neutral point of view, but without being too specific." Please remove it yourself since indeed would be a violation of 1RR currently for me. It is not 1RR to revert oneself however. Makeandtoss (talk) 09:45, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

How's this? [1] - IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 09:59, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Looks good, thanks. Makeandtoss (talk) 10:32, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

Agreed. إيان (talk) 12:55, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 18 March 2024

Change the reference of the Nakba as ethnic cleansing, in the very first line, when it was a defeat in war. Calling it ethnic cleansing is biased and partisan. 68.162.150.51 (talk) 17:16, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Levivich (talk) 18:22, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

Infiltrators (1949-1967)

Hi everyone. My last addition to the article was a few lines about "infiltrators" during the 1948 Nakba. I had gathered sources/quotes for additions about "infiltrators" after the war (1949-1967) but haven't had a chance to summarize these sources/quotes into a prose addition, and RL is getting the best of me and I might not get back to this for a month or more. So in case anyone wants to pick up where I left off and add some content about post-1948 "infiltrators," here is are my potential footnotes for that addition:

Extended content

INFILTRATORS 1949-1955 {{harvnb |Manna |2022 |ps=, pp. 3 ("The sword of expulsion was a constant threat over the heads of Palestinians in the Galilee and in other areas even after the end of the war when Israeli security forces conducted a fierce campaign against attempts by refugees to return to their own villages. Israel criminalized those returnees by labeling them as “infiltrators” in order to justify its iron fist policy, which included firing indiscriminately on any refugee seen trying to return to their home or village."), 130-145 ("[p. 130] Despite the massive effort expended by the army and police to halt the occurrence of refugees attempting to return to their homes, labeled “infiltrators” by Israel, Israel’s success was only partial, since thousands returned to their homes and remain there."), 151-162 ("[p. 161] Five years after the Galilee was completely occupied, official Israeli sources estimated that about 20,500 “infiltrators” had succeeded in gaining citizenship and thus the guarantee that they would spend their lives in the country. In the same period, Israel agreed to a family reunification program for about 3,000 people. These numbers confirm that most returnees succeeded in returning through their own capabilities, despite all the dangers and Israeli policies to stem that phenomenon. The returning “infiltrators” constituted about a quarter of the population of the Galilee after the Nakba."), and 290 n. 2 ("Israeli researchers, with Morris at their head, estimate that the number of Arabs who were killed in the “border wars” and labeled as “infiltrators” was between three and five thousand individuals.")}}; {{harvnb |Slater |2020 |p=94 |ps=, "At the end of the 1948 war Israel decided to set up some 350 settlements along its borders, “in many cases built on the ruins of abandoned villages,” to be populated largely by the newly arrived Jewish immigrants from Europe and the Arab world. For that reason, as well as its “transfer” ideology and security concerns, the Israeli government decided to block the return of the Palestinian refugees—the survivors of the Nakba who had fled into neighboring Arab states—by any means necessary. As Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary in the summer of 1948: the return of the refugees “must be prevented . . . at all costs.” Of course, the “costs” were overwhelmingly borne by the refugees seeking to return to their villages, farms, and properties. In the early years after 1948, most of the refugees were unarmed and nonviolent; dispossessed of their homes and property, poverty stricken and even hungry, they were desperately trying to harvest their crops from the fields and orchards that had been seized by Israel. To be sure, some of them were militants or terrorists—the predecessors of the more organized Palestinian resistance forces, the “Fedayeen” or guerrilla forces of the 1950s—who sought to kill the new owners of their previous properties, or merely any Jews they encountered. Even when the “infiltrators,” as Israel called them, posed no security threats, the government’s orders to its soldiers and border police were to shoot them on sight. As a result, in the early years after the war an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 Palestinians were killed."}}; {{harvnb |Rouhana |Sabbagh-Khoury |2017 |p=407 |ps=, "Under military rule, Palestinians lived in the shadow of the continuous fear of traumatic expulsion that befell the vast majority of their people, including families and friends, and in many cases themselves – as some of them sneaked back across the borders. They became aware of stories of those expelled and of those Palestinians who tried to “sneak” back to their homes and towns from across the borders, and the thousands who were shot and killed to stop their return. Indeed, Israel continued the ethnic cleansing well into the early 1950s (Masalha 1997b) and criminalized and securitized the return of refugees to their towns from across the borders. The Israeli authorities have coined a special term for this category of Palestinian refugees who tried to “sneak” back to their own homes: “infiltrators” (''mistaninim'' in Hebrew, ''mutasallileen'' in Arabic), a term carrying criminal and security connotations. This criminalization helped legitimize the immediate killing of “infiltrators” when Israeli soldiers discovered them at the borders. Sometimes these returnees were put on trucks and forced back across the borders. This criminalization was supposed to serve a triple purpose for the newly created Israeli state: deterring those who considered returning to their homes from across the borders; warning the Arab population against assisting their community members by hiding them in their houses; and increasing the fear of Palestinians among the Jewish population, thus justifying the extreme measures of simply killing these refugees."}}; {{harvnb |Rouhana |Sabbagh-Khoury |2014 |p=7 |ps=, "In conjunction with (and total contrast to) the Law of Return and the active and sometimes aggressive recruitment of Jewish citizens of other countries as immigrants (or even non-Jewish immigrants who have family relations to Jews), Palestinians who were expelled or who left under the duress of war were prohibited from returning to their homes or to any other place in the country (except for a few thousand cases of family reunification under strict conditions). Those who tried to return from across the borders after the ceasefire were considered ‘infiltrators’, and in thousands of cases, they were killed while en route to their homes. These steps guaranteed that the reversal of the demographic composition of the country by force of law was completed early in the military rule period."}}; {{harvnb |Manna |2013 |pp=92-93 |ps=, "Many Palestinian refugees did not give up the hope of going back to their homes and properties after the end of the war, and tried to return to their original localities. They crossed the new borders erected in the aftermath of 1948 in an attempt to go back to their homes and lands. About [p. 93] 20,000 succeeded in their mission, particularly in the Galilee, and thus spared their families the humiliation of exile in the refugee camps. However, many more failed to make it and a few thousand Palestinians paid dearly with their lives in their attempts to return to their homes. The Israeli policy was extremely harsh with respect to Palestinians who “infiltrated” the borders of the newly established Jewish state, which had a clear interest in preventing the enlargement of its Arab minority. The partial expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland was complemented by the Israeli policy of transfer ''ex post facto''. Hundreds of Arab villages in Israel were destroyed and on many of them new Jewish settlements were established. As a result of these measures, the stream of Palestinian returnees dried up from the mid-1950’s on. Since then, second and third Palestinian generation of refugees have been born in the camps of exile."}}; {{harvnb |Masalha |2012 |pp=230-231}}; {{harvnb |Davis |2011 |p=218 |ps=, "After 1948 and through the early 1950s, people found ways to go back to their villages. Not many attempted this, but some did, and the cost was high. Some succeeded in returning permanently to live inside Israel, but for most, their goals were to get the crops, provisions, and possessions they had left behind and to visit the family members who had remained. Many were killed on these cross-border infiltrations, which served to discourage all but the most daring, and these returns predated the military raids of the Palestinian resistance some years later."}}; {{harvnb |Shlaim |2009 |pp=85-90 |ps=, "[p. 85] The conventional (Israeli) view is that Palestinian infiltration into Israel was aided and abetted by the Arab governments, following the defeat of their regular armies on the battlefield; that it was a form of undeclared guerrilla warfare designed to weaken and even destroy the infant Jewish state; that Israel was thus the innocent victim of Arab provocation and Arab aggression; and that its military reprisals were legitimately undertaken in self-defence. The evidence gleaned by Morris from Israeli, British, American and UN archives - Arab governments do not, as a rule, open their archives to research - suggests that infiltration into Israel was a direct consequence of the displacement and dispossession of over 700,000 Palestinians in the course of the Palestine War, and that the motives behind it were [p. 86] largely economic and social rather than political. Many of the infiltrators were Palestinian refugees whose reasons for crossing the border included looking for relatives, returning to their homes, recovering possessions, tending their fields, harvesting and, occasionally, exacting revenge. Some of the infiltrators were thieves and smugglers; some were involved in the hashish convoys; others were nomadic Bedouins, more accustomed to grazing rights than to state borders. There were acts of terror and politically motivated raids, such as those organised by the ex-Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, and financed by Saudi Arabia, but they did not amount to very much. In the period 1949-56 as a whole, 90 per cent or more of all infiltrations, in Morris’s estimate, were motivated by economic and social concerns. As the years went by, a certain overlap developed between economic infiltration and political infiltration geared to killing and injuring Israelis. The 'free-fire’ policy adopted by the Israeli army, border guard and police in dealing with suspects - a policy of shooting first and asking questions later - contributed to this overlap. Faced with trigger-happy Israeli soldiers, infiltrators started coming in organised bands and responding in kind."}}; {{harvnb |Shlaim |2009 |p=86 |ps=, "Altogether between 2,700 and 5,000 infiltrators were killed in the period 1949-56, the great majority of them unarmed."}}; {{harvnb |Shlaim |2009 |p=89 |ps=, "To cope with this threat Israel established new settlements along the borders and razed abandoned Arab villages. Israeli units began patrolling the borders, laying ambushes, sowing mines and setting booby-traps. The ‘free-fire’ policy towards infiltrators was adopted. Periodic search operations were also mounted in Arab villages inside Israel to weed out infiltrators. Intermittendy, the soldiers who carried out these operations committed acts of brutality, among them gang rape, the murder of civilians, and the dumping of 120 suspected infiltrators in the Arava desert without water."}}; {{harvnb |Humphries |Khalili |2007 |pp=219-220 |ps=, "In the early years, while the Lebanese–Galilee border remained fairly porous, the trip was fraught with dangers, as the Israelis fought ferociously against returning refugees. Those caught faced expulsion, detention, or even being killed as “infiltrators.”"}}; {{harvnb |Morris |2004 |p=508 |ps=, "As with other sites, so with Bir‘im, the authorities feared that, through infiltration, the village would soon fill up and cease to be ‘abandoned’.27 In June 1949, they removed the last Arabs from Bir‘im – the ten original guards and a handful who had joined them – and transferred them to Jish.28 At the same time, a group of Jews settled in Bir‘im’s houses (in August 1950 they moved to a permanent site, designated Kibbutz Bar‘am, on the village’s lands) – ‘and members of this kibbutz began to behave toward our property and our land as if they were the true owners’, the villagers later complained.29 On 27 April 1949, the government issued regulations, based on the Mandatory Emergency Regulations, empowering the defence minister to declare a border area a ‘security zone’, enabling him to bar anyone from entry. In September, the Lebanese border area was declared such a zone.30 This legalised the previous months’ operations. For decades thereafter, the refugees of Bir‘im (in Jish and Lebanon), Iqrit (in Rama) and Mansura (in Lebanon) pleaded with Israel to be [p. 509] permitted to return to their homes. They were supported by Shitrit and Ben-Zvi, president of Israel from 1952 to 1963. They also appealed to the High Court of Justice. On 31 July 1951, the High Court ruled in favour of the return of the Iqrit refugees to their village. But the IDF continued to obstruct a return."}}; {{harvnb |Morris |2004 |p=509 |ps=, "As to Bir‘im, in 25 February 1952 the High Court ruled in favour of the state, though it allowed that the initial eviction had not been completely legal. Here, too, the IDF continued to block a return and new settlements were established on the two villages’ lands. The settlements joined the IDF and GSS in lobbying against a return. The defense establishment argued that a return would harm border security, pave the way for infiltrators and serve as a precedent; the settlements, that a return, or an endorsement of the refugees’ claims to lands, would undermine their existence. During 1949–1953, natural erosion, the set- tlers and the IDF gradually levelled the villages. On 24 December 1951 – Christmas eve – the IDF razed what remained of Iqrit with explosives; on 16 and 17 September 1953, using fighter-bombers and sappers, the IDF leveled Bir‘im. In Iqrit, only the church was left standing, in Bir‘im, the ancient synagogue. Since then, no one has returned to the two sites."}}; {{harvnb |Morris |2004 |p=509 |ps=, "The case of Bir‘im, Iqrit and Mansura illustrates how deep was the IDF’s determination from November 1948 onward to create and main- tain a northern border ‘security belt’ clear of Arabs. That determina- tion quickly spread to the civilian institutions of state, particularly those concerned with immigrant absorption and settlement. Immediately after Hiram, Weitz and other executives began planning settlements in the border strip and exempted them from the ‘surplus lands’ requirement; indeed, in their planning, they tended to ‘widen’ the strip to a depth of 10–15 kilometres. However, Kaplan and Cisling, while accepting the IDF’s arguments, insisted that the evictees should be properly and comfortably resettled. Only Minority Affairs Ministry director general Machnes opposed the principle of an Arab-less border strip."}}; {{harvnb |Morris |2004 |ps=, pp. 510-517 ("[p. 510] But the military periodically raided the full and half-empty Galilee villages to weed out illegal returnees, dubbed ‘infiltrators’ ... In the course of 1949, the IDF repeatedly raided the villages, sorted out legal from illegal residents and, usually, expelled returnees ... [p. 513] Ben-Gurion personally authorised the expulsion of the infiltrating returnees at a meeting with General Avner at the beginning of 1949. Ben-Gurion was later to say that he viewed the infiltration problem ‘through the barrel of a gun’ ... [p. 514] But infiltrators continued to return ... [p. 515] After being shoved into the West Bank, many expellees infiltrated back ... Another officer thought he had a solution, after pointing out that ‘almost all’ those expelled – all adult males – from one village, ‘Ibillin, had since returned: ‘We have not yet heard of any case in which a whole family of expellees has returned. It is clear, therefore, that the expulsion of whole families better assures their non-return.’ ... [p. 517] The search and expulsion operations in the Galilee continued during the following months [after mid-February 1949].") and 535 ("But where politics did not interfere, the army’s desire for Arab-clear borders was generally decisive. Arab villages along the border meant problems in terms of infiltration, espionage and sabotage. When the villages were semi-abandoned, as was generally the case, it meant a continuous return and resettlement in the empty houses, thus consolidating the Arab presence in the area and increasing their numbers in the country. To this was added the interest of the Jewish agricultural and settlement bodies in more land and settlement sites and the interest of the various government ministries (health, finance, minorities) to be rid of the burden of economically problematic, desolate, semi-abandoned villages. These interests generally dovetailed."}}; {{harvnb |Morris |2004 |p=536 |ps=, "Excluding the Negev beduin, it is probable that the number of Arabs kicked out of, or persuaded to leave, the country in the border-clearing operations and in the internal anti-infiltration sweeps during 1948–1950 was around 20,000. If one includes expelled northern Negev beduin, the total may have been as high as 30,000–40,000."}}; INFILTRATORS 1956-1967 {{harvnb |Kimmerling |2008 |pp=162-164 |ps=, "[p. 162] The Doctrine of Preemptive War, 1956–1967[:] By refusing to deal with the problem of uprooted Palestinians concentrated in refugee camps in surrounding countries, Israel was exposed to [p. 163] increasing Palestinian infiltration activities. The infiltrations slowly devel- oped into a kind of guerrilla warfare and terrorist activity, mainly against civilians settled in frontier settlements established on “abandoned” Arab lands and filled with new immigrants. To Israel, the authorities of the Arab states from where the infiltrators came were responsible for the infiltra- tions, and Israel responded with an escalating series of retaliations and reprisals against military and civilian targets in Arab countries.37 This pe- riod, labeled by Benny Morris38 as the period of “Israel’s border wars” had several consequences."}}; {{harvnb |Shalhoub-Kevorkian |2017 |p=348 |ps=, "The newly established Israeli state ruled over the Palestinian citizens first through military rule and by instilling fear in people through a portrayal of the government as an “all seeing, all-knowing” (Korn 2000). Through a network of paid agents and informers, the state invoked a heavy sense of fear when and while rewarding those who cooperated and punishing those who did not. The surveillance of the military government imposed restrictions on movements and criminalized some Palestinians, resulting in the increase of conviction rates against them (ibid.). This machinery of surveillance also resulted in the creation of different segments of Palestinians and different categories of residents. They were, for example: “evacuees” – those who were evicted by the Israeli state from their homes, villages, and cities; “infiltrators” – those who “illegally” returned to within the newly established state’s borders in an effort to return to their homes; and “present absentees” – those who had the misfortune to be absent from their homes and lands during the population census carried out in 1948, and thus were banned from returning to their homes, but nonetheless remained in the country."}};

So if anybody wants to read all of that and summarize it, thanks :-) Levivich (talk) 23:45, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

Death toll recent edit

This recent edit added that "at least 15,000 Arabs had been killed."

References

This information (the death toll) is much needed but I doubt these sources are sufficient. This should be discussed. @ThePaganUK. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 21:25, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

@User:IOHANNVSVERVS Will do some digging and add more refs shortly. Cheers.ThePaganUK (talk) 11:16, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

That would be great! Still need better ones but also the sources already provided are not as bad as I first thought. Thanks for your contribution(s). IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 19:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

It seems like the 15,000 number refers to total Arab dead in the 1948 Palestine war, including Arab League soldiers. See this discussion. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 22:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

FWIW the AJ articles says explicitly "About 15,000 Palestinians were killed in a series of mass atrocities, including dozens of massacres." The Relifweb source similarly says "During the Nakba, around 531 villages were totally destroyed, and some 15,000 Palestinians were killed by Zionist militias, who between 1947 and 1949 committed at least 70 massacres against Palestinians." Their source for that figure is this article published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. It seems these are referring to massacre deaths and not combat casualties. Levivich (talk) 03:43, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

I'm too busy to look into this now, but thanks for this info and I will say that I feel it's reasonable to restore this, though I'd personally like to see it attributed. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 23:42, 16 April 2024 (UTC)