Destroyed Villages
As part of the expulsion of Palestinians in 1947-49, over 500 Palestinian villages were not only depopulated, but also systematically destroyed and levelled to the ground. The obliteration of villages after their inhabitants had left is a powerful testament to the Israeli resolve to ensure that the Palestinian refugees are prevented from returning to their homes. The Jewish National Fund (JNF), one of the main instruments through which the Israeli state now controls and restricts 93% of the land for Jewish only use, has built treed parks on over 100 Palestinian destroyed villages, concealing the war crimes committed in 1948. Many of these villages remain unoccupied today, belying the Israeli claim that it is unfeasible and impractical for the refugees to return.