Israel successfully repelled the Pan-Arab army while other Israeli fighters terrorized and depopulated the countryside. Ilan Pappe called the depopulation of the Palestinians “ethnic cleansing,” but is it possible to use this phrase correctly when talking about the events of 1947-1948? To answer this question one must verify whether there is an established definition of the phrase "ethnic cleansing" and also establish that this was the intent of the Zionists, both initially and subsequently. This can be determined by examining Zionist policy and action before and after the UN partition plan, which will demonstrate that the term is appropriately applied to the situation by Pappe. The United Nations defines ethnic cleansing as; “The systematic expulsion of a group of people from an area because of their ethnic, racial or religious identity (ethnic cleansing), war crimes (attacks against non-combatants or civilian buildings and areas), and crimes against humanity ( systematic and widespread violations such as murder, rape and torture of civilians)” (United Nations). This is the definition that Ilan Pape uses to denounce the atrocities committed by the Zionists during the formation of Israel. Pape used this term because it accurately encompasses the actions carried out against local populations, mostly non-combatants. The term “ethnicheskoye chish cheniye,” or ethnic cleansing, was first used in 1988 by Russia to describe the events of the Nagorno-Karabakh war (New York Times). During this conflict the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Armenian SSR approved a plan for the violent expulsion of Azerbaijanis from the territory of the republic, where people were terrorized and forced to leave. In all, over 800,000 Azerbaijanis are… middle of paper… needed, while other terms imply non-aggressive tactics. Finally, the data collected by the JNF was used to speed up the expulsion and subsequently a detailed description was developed through Plan D. So, what does Pappe believe is necessary for peace? He states: “Neither Palestinians nor Jews will be saved, from each other or from themselves, if the ideology that still drives Israeli policy toward the Palestinians is not correctly identified. The problem with Israel has never been its Jewishness: Judaism has many faces and one of them provides a solid basis for peace and coexistence; it is the ethnic Zionist character -30/world/milosevic.profile_1_ivan-stambolic-ethnic-cleansing-yugoslav-leader?_s=PM:WORLD