The author revisits the Israeli Defense Forces' October 1948 Galilee operation in the light of newly available archival material and finds that, contrary to earlier findings, orders were in fact issued to clear the Galilee of Arabs. The reasons that most of the population remained in situ are examined, and the pattern of massacres in the region is discussed. The article concludes by emphasizing the cumulative nature of historiography and the way the picture changes in accordance with the available data.

Benny Morris is professor of history at Ben-Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel.