Before, during, and after the so-called War of Independence, Palestinians were pressured or terrorized into leaving their homes. Hundreds of thousands did. Tens of thousands of others who held on through the war were expelled by the army afterwards. Some were removed to Arab countries; others were placed elsewhere in Israel. Why? Two reasons: to isolate the Arabs within Israel and to build villages for Jews. Segev’s chapter “Dividing the Spoils” describes how the property left behind was shamelessly allocated to the Israelis.
