The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East

by Sandy Tolan

"The boundaries of the state," Ben-Gurion wrote, "will not be determined by a U.N. resolution, but by the force of arms."

Despite the conflict, many Jewish intellectuals in Palestine had argued that Israel's long-term survival depended on finding a way to coexist with the Arabs.

Two separate states, they argued, could lead to greater tensions in the future.

"I do not want those who flee to return . . . I will be in favor of them not returning even after the war."

"Every enemy field in the area of our complete control we must harvest. Every field we are unable to reap—must be destroyed.