Ethnic cleansing is when people of a particular ethnic group are either killed or forced to leave their homes and areas of origin because of belonging to that ethnic group. All of the Palestinians who ended up in refugee camps were ethnically cleansed from their areas of origin. All of the Palestinians whose homes have been bulldozed to make room for Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been ethnically cleansed. All of the Arab Israelis who have been forced out of their homes and whose land has been confiscated have been ethnically cleansed.

All of the Jewish-only settlements are being built on land that was ethnically cleansed of its indigenous population. These settlement are still expanding, which means that the ethnic cleansing is still ongoing. Eventually, when the settlements have expanded to include all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the ethnic cleansing in that area will be complete.