Editing David Ben-Gurion (section)

===Plan Dalet===
{{Main|Plan Dalet}}

Plan Dalet was a plan worked out by the [[Haganah]] in [[Mandatory Palestine]] in March 1948, requested by Ben Gurion, consisting of a set of guidelines to take control of Mandatory Palestine, declare a Jewish state, and defend its borders and people, including the Jewish population outside of the borders, "before, and in anticipation of" the invasion by regular Arab armies.<ref name="Tal">{{cite book |author=David Tal|title=War in Palestine, 1948: strategy and diplomacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_F8YXt3EKQC&pg=PA165 |year=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |pages=165–|isbn=978-0-203-49954-2}}</ref><ref name="Morris.The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited">{{cite book|author=Benny Morris|title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Benny Morris, Cambridge University Press, pg 155}}</ref> According to the Israeli [[Yehoshafat Harkabi]], Plan Dalet called for the conquest of Arab towns and villages inside and along the borders of the area allocated to the proposed Jewish State in the [[UN Partition Plan]].<ref name="Harkabi">{{cite book |author=Yehoshafat Harkabi |title=Arab Attitudes to Israel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocybbUgguOEC&pg=PA366 |access-date=12 April 2011 |date=June 1974 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-470-35203-8 |pages=366–}}</ref> In case of resistance, the population of conquered villages was to be expelled outside the borders of the Jewish state. If no resistance was met, the residents could stay put, under military rule.<ref name="gelber2006p306">{{cite book|author=Yoav Gelber|title=Palestine 1948: War, Escape And The Emergence Of The Palestinian Refugee Problem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcSUgrDsD_sC|access-date=13 July 2013|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-84519-075-0|pages=306| quote=Instructions called for demolition of villages that could not be held permanently. Another paragraph detailed the method for taking over an Arab village:  Surround the village and search it (for weapons). In case of resistance—annihilate the armed force and expel the population beyond the border... If there is no resistance, a garrison should be stationed in the village ... The garrison commander should expropriate all weapons, radio receivers and vehicles. All political suspects should be arrested. After consulting the appropriate political authorities, appoint local institutions for administering the village internal affairs.  The text clarified unequivocally that expulsion concerned only those villages that would fight against the Hagana and resist occupation, and not all Arab hamlets. Similar guidelines related to the occupation of Arab neighborhoods in mixed towns.  In his article written in 1961, Khalidi and those who followed in his footsteps presented the guideline instructing the Hagana units to expel the Arab villagers as the principal issue of Plan D. Furthermore, they have distorted its meaning by portraying it as a general order embracing all Arabs in all villages. The text, however, is clear enough: reading Plan D as it is, without deconstructing it to change its meaning, show that there is no correlation between the actual text, and the significance, background and outcomes that the Palestinian scholars and their Israeli colleagues assign it. These paragraphs of Plan D were of marginal significance, and their contribution to shaping a policy towards the Arab population was immaterial. Arab policies were decided either locally, by commanders in the field and their local advisors on Arab affairs, or by the Arabists within Ben- Gurion’s inner circle of advisors who advised their superiors. Ber, Pasternak and even Yadin did not pretend to be authorities on Arab affairs or any other issues of high policy. Their concerns were just military, and the scheme’s purpose was preparing for the Arab invasion, not expelling the Palestinians.}}</ref><ref name="MEW">MidEast Web, [http://www.mideastweb.org/pland.htm ''Plan Daleth (Plan D)'']</ref><ref name="Gelber2006">{{cite book |author=Yoav Gelber |title=Palestine, 1948: war, escape and the emergence of the Palestinian refugee problem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcSUgrDsD_sC&pg=PA98 |access-date=14 April 2011 |date=January 2006 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-075-0 |pages=98–}}</ref><ref name="Diplo">[http://mondediplo.com/1997/12/palestine Ten years of research into the 1947-49 war - The expulsion of the Palestinians re-examined]. By Dominique Vidal. ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]''. December 1997.</ref>

The intent of Plan Dalet has been long debated by historians. Some assert that it was entirely defensive {{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}, while others say it was a deliberate plan with the purpose of expulsion or [[ethnic cleansing]] {{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}.