29 February 1948,
The Israeli authorities launched a plan for the occupation of Palestinian land. The military leaders were charged with occupying the Arab peoples and forcibly expelling them if necessary. According to Ben-Gurion, founder and first leader of Israel, the borders of Israel would not be determined by the United Nations, but "strengths". When the Israeli state was proclaimed in May, 175,000 Palestinian refugees were expelled from 200 villages through violence and terrorist practices.
Source:
Josep Fontana, for the sake of empire. A history of the world since 1945 (Ed. Past & Present).