violent tactics and strategic massacres to ethnically cleanse Palestine of its population and confiscate lands and properties. 2. The 1948 Nakba The Nakba is a prime example of the use of force to grab land and de facto confiscate it. Zionist militias, which later became the Israeli army, forcibly displaced over 750,000 Palestinians to gain control of their lands.6 Israel immediately expropriated an estimated 17,178,000 dunums (17,178 km2) of land in 1948 from Palestinian refugees and afterwards continued to expropriate an additional 700,000 dunums (700 km2) from internally displaced Palestinians (IDPs).7 The use of force has thus historically played a significant role in denying Palestinians in Palestine 1948 the use of their lands. Once the land was taken coercively, Israel began bridging the gap between effective control and legal titles to these lands, which were still legally held by Palestinians. B. Israeli Legislation: From Manipulated Previous Legislations to New Land Laws In addition to selectively appropriating and discarding pre-existing laws to assist its policy of land confiscation (1), Israel developed and ratified news laws to consolidate its grip on the land (2). 1. Manipulation of Previous Legislations Over the years, Mandatory Palestine experienced several occupations and administrations: Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Egyptian. During the British Mandate, it was suggested that all uncultivable land be registered in the name of the High Commissioner of Palestine, providing that it would be used for the good of the community.8 Israel, as the successor sovereign, ‘inherited’ all 6 Jad Isaac, The Israel-Palestine conflict: Parallel Discourses, (University of California Los Angeles Center for Middle East Development Series 1st ed.) 2011, 68. 7 BADIL, Land Confiscation and Denial of Use, 12. 8 Land (Acquisition for Public Purposes) Ordinance 1943, 1943. 4