How David Ben-Gurion got the Palestinians wrong in 1948
Key takeaways
- The Palestinian question never disappeared despite Israel’s best efforts and worst brutality.
- In fact, Zionist leaders like David Ben-Gurion believed that “the refugee problem would resolve itself”.
- There was deep-seated conviction among Zionists that the Palestinians lacked an identity, and they would just flee to neighbouring Arab countries and assimilate.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The Palestinian question never disappeared despite Israel’s best efforts and worst brutality.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the Jewish Agency, speaks at a news conference in Paris on July 27, 1946 [AP]When European Jewish settlers embarked on brutal ethnic cleansing to establish Israel in 1948, they thought the Palestinian population would be the least of their problems. In fact, Zionist leaders like David Ben-Gurion believed that “the refugee problem would resolve itself”.
There was deep-seated conviction among Zionists that the Palestinians lacked an identity, and they would just flee to neighbouring Arab countries and assimilate. They would not come back to claim their stolen land.