Palestinian refugee camps

Palestinian refugee camps were first established to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight during the 1948 Palestine war. Camps were established by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A subsequent wave of Palestinian refugees were created in the Naksa after the Six-Day War in 1967.UNWRA, Palestine refugees

There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps in total, 58 official and 10 unofficial,UNRWA Annual Operational report 2019 for the Reporting period 01 January – 31 December 2019, pages 168-169, "Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Statistics" ten of which were established after the Six-Day War while the others were established in 1948 to 1950s.

Only a third of registered Palestinian refugees live within the boundaries of the refugee camps. Most have integrated socially and economically outside the camps. Many live in adjacent geographic areas.BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 29, 34, 35

The number of registered Palestine refugees grew from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.

History

Role of UNRWA

UNRWA's mandate is to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees, including access to its refugee camps. For this purpose, it defines Palestinian refugees as "persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict."

UNRWA also extends assistance to the patrilineal descendants of such refugees, as well as their legally adopted children.

For a camp to be recognized by UNRWA, there must be an agreement between the host government and UNRWA governing use of the camp. UNRWA does not itself run any camps, has no police powers or administrative role, but simply provides services to the camp. UNRWA recognizes facilities in 58 designated refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and it also provides facilities in other areas where large numbers of registered Palestine refugees live outside of recognized camps. UNRWA also provided relief to Jewish displaced persons inside Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for them in 1952. Refugee camps developed from tented cities to rows of concrete blockhouses to urban ghettos indistinguishable from their surroundings (effectively becoming urban developments within existing cities or by themselves), that house around one third of all registered Palestine refugees.

The Funding for UNRWA activities comes almost entirely from voluntary contributions from UN member states. UNRWA also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.

List of camps The camps are divided between five regions: Gaza Strip: The Gaza Strip has eight official and no unofficial refugee camps, and 1,221,110 registered refugees. West Bank: The West Bank has 19 official and four unofficial refugee camps, and 741,409 registered refugees. Syria: Syria has nine official refugee camps and three unofficial refugee camps, and 499,189 registered refugees. Lebanon: There are 12 official refugee and no unofficial camps in Lebanon, and 448,599 registered refugees. Jordan: There are 10 official and three unofficial refugee camps in Jordan, and 2,034,641 registered refugees.

Name Founded Location Status Coordinates Population Area (km2) Density (pop/km2) Comments Refs Yarmouk 1957 Syria Unofficial n.a. 2.1 n.a. Largely destroyed (was 160,000 population) UNRWA Yarmouk Camp Rafah 1949 Gaza Strip UNRWA 125,304 n.a. n.a. UNRWA Rafah Camp Baqa'a 1968 Jordan UNRWA 119,000 1.4 85,000 UNRWA Baqa'a refugee camp Jabalia 1948 Gaza Strip UNRWA 113,990 1.4 81,421 UNRWA Jabalia Camp Khan Yunis 1949 Gaza Strip UNRWA 87,816 0.549 159,956 UNRWA Khan Yunis Camp Al-Shati (Beach camp) 1948 Gaza Strip UNRWA 85,628 0.52 164,669 UNRWA Al-Shati Camp Nuseirat 1949 Gaza Strip UNRWA 80,194 n.a. n.a. UNRWA Nuseirat Camp Ain al-Hilweh 1948 Lebanon UNRWA 59,660 0.3 198,867 UNRWA Ain al-Hilweh Al-Wehdat refugee camp (Amman New Camp) 1955 Jordan UNRWA 57,000 0.48 118,750 UNRWA Al-Wehdat refugee camp Marka 1968 Jordan UNRWA 53,000 0.92 57,609 UNRWA Marka refugee camp Jaramana 1948 Syria UNRWA 49,000 0.03 1,633,333 UNRWA Jaramana Latakia 1955–6 Syria Unofficial 47,400 0.22 215,455 UNRWA Latakia Camp Bureij 1949 Gaza Strip UNRWA 43,330 0.529 81,909 UNRWA Bureij Rashidieh 1963 Lebanon UNRWA 34,584 0.25 138,336 UNRWA Rashidieh Jabal el-Hussein 1952 Jordan UNRWA 32,000 0.42 76,190 UNRWA Al-Abdali Maghazi 1949 Gaza Strip UNRWA 31,329 0.6 52,215 UNRWA Maghazi (camp) Jerash 1968 Jordan UNRWA 29,000 0.75 38,667 UNRWA Jerash Irbid 1951 Jordan UNRWA 28,000 0.24 116,667 UNRWA Irbid Balata 1950 West Bank UNRWA 27,000 0.25 108,000 UNRWA Balata Deir al-Balah 1948 Gaza Strip UNRWA 25,569 0.16 159,806 UNRWA Deir al-Balah Camp Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp) 1968 Jordan UNRWA 25,000 0.77 32,468 UNRWA Husn Camp Burj el-Shamali 1955 Lebanon UNRWA 24,929 0.134 186,037 UNRWA Burj el-Shemali Shu'fat Camp 1965 West Bank UNRWA 24,000 0.2 120,000 UNRWA Shu'fat camp Qabr Essit 1967 Syria UNRWA 23,700 0.02 1,185,000 UNRWA Qabr Essit Tulkarm 1950 West Bank UNRWA 21,500 0.18 119,444 UNRWA Tulkarm Camp Beddawi 1955 Lebanon UNRWA 21,252 0.2 106,260 UNRWA Beddawi refugee camp Zarqa 1949 Jordan UNRWA 20,000 0.18 111,111 UNRWA Zarqa Bourj el-Barajneh 1948 Lebanon UNRWA 19,539 0.104 187,875 UNRWA Bourj el-Barajneh Souf 1967 Jordan UNRWA 19,000 0.5 38,000 UNRWA Souf Camp Askar 1950 West Bank UNRWA 18,500 0.119 155,462 UNRWA Askar (camp) Al-Nayrab 1948 Syria UNRWA 18,000 0.15 120,000 UNRWA Al-Nayrab Dheisheh 1949 West Bank UNRWA 15,000 0.33 45,455 UNRWA Dheisheh Qalandia 1949 West Bank UNRWA 14,800 0.42 35,238 UNRWA Kalandia Camp Al-Hassan 1967 Jordan Unofficial 14,068 n.a. n.a. BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, pages 30-33 Jenin 1953 West Bank UNRWA 14,000 0.42 33,333 UNRWA Jenin Camp Jalazone 1949 West Bank UNRWA 13,000 0.253 51,383 UNRWA Jalazone Al-Sabinah 1948 Syria UNRWA 13,000 0.03 433,333 UNRWA Al-Sabinah Homs 1949 Syria UNRWA 13,000 0.15 86,667 UNRWA Homs Camp Khan Danoun 1950 Syria UNRWA 12,650 0.03 421,667 UNRWA Khan Dannun El Buss 1948 Lebanon UNRWA 12,281 0.08 153,513 UNRWA El-Buss refugee camp Al-Arroub 1950 West Bank UNRWA 12,000 0.24 50,000 UNRWA Al-Arroub (camp) Khan al-Shih 1949 Syria UNRWA 12,000 0.69 17,391 UNRWA Khan al-Shih Shatila 1949 Lebanon UNRWA 10,849 0.04 271,225 UNRWA Shatila refugee camp Nur Shams 1952 West Bank UNRWA 10,500 0.21 50,000 UNRWA Nur Shams, Tulkarm Daraa 1950 Syria UNRWA 10,500 1.3 8,077 UNRWA Deraa Fawwar 1949 West Bank UNRWA 9,500 0.27 35,185 UNRWA Fawwar, Hebron Wavel 1948 Lebanon UNRWA 9,460 0.043 220,000 UNRWA Wavel Hama 1950 Syria UNRWA 9,000 0.06 150,000 UNRWA Hama Aqabat Jaber 1948 West Bank UNRWA 8,600 1.67 5,150 UNRWA Aqabat Jaber Madaba Camp 1956 Jordan Unofficial 8,597 n.a. n.a. Far'a 1949 West Bank UNRWA 8,500 0.26 32,692 UNRWA Far'a Talbieh Camp 1968 Jordan UNRWA 8,000 0.13 61,538 UNRWA Talbieh Camp Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1) 1950 West Bank UNRWA 7,500 0.045 166,667 UNRWA Ein Beit al-Ma' Sokhna camp 1969 Jordan Unofficial 7,424 n.a. n.a. sometimes transliterated 'Sakhna' or 'Sukhna' Al-Am'ari 1949 West Bank UNRWA 7,000 0.096 72,917 UNRWA Am'ari Ein Al-Tal (also known as Handarat camp) 1962 Syria Unofficial n.a. 0.16 n.a. Largely destroyed (was 7,000 population) UNRWA Ein el Tal Nahr al-Bared 1949 Lebanon UNRWA 5,857 0.198 29,581 Reconstructed, was 27,000 population UNRWA Nahr al-Bared Mieh Mieh 1954 Lebanon UNRWA 5,747 0.054 106,426 UNRWA Mieh Mieh refugee camp Aida 1950 West Bank UNRWA 5,500 0.071 77,465 UNRWA Aida (camp) Dbayeh 1956 Lebanon UNRWA 4,591 0.084 54,655 UNRWA Dbayeh Ein es-Sultan camp 1948 West Bank UNRWA 3,800 0.87 4,368 UNRWA Ein as-Sultan 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) 1950 West Bank UNRWA 2,900 0.027 107,407 UNRWA 'Azza Deir 'Ammar Camp 1949 West Bank UNRWA 2,500 0.162 15,432 UNRWA Deir 'Ammar Camp Qaddura camp 1948 West Bank Unofficial 1,558 n.a. n.a. Mar Elias refugee camp 1952 Lebanon UNRWA 725 0.0054 134,259 UNRWA Mar Elias refugee camp Silwad Camp 1971 West Bank Unofficial 462 n.a. n.a. Abu Shukheidim camp 1948 West Bank Unofficial n.a. n.a. n.a. Town of Abu Shukhaydam (sic) shows on maps as ~1 mi SW of Birzeit Birzeit camp (As-Saqaeif) 1948 West Bank Unofficial n.a. n.a. n.a.

Population statistics The evolution of Palestinian refugee population is shown below:Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 2003-30 June 2004, Supplement No. 13 (A/59/13) Table 2: Distribution of registered population (as at 30 June 2004)Ḥanafī, Sārī "Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of Legitimacy." (2010), page 6BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 30

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004 2009 2018 Jordan 506,200 613,743 506,038 716,372 929,097 1,570,192 1,758,274 1,951,603 2,242,579 Lebanon 127,600 136,561 175,958 226,554 302,049 376,472 396,890 422,188 475,075 Syria 82,194 115,043 158,717 209,362 280,731 383,199 417,346 461,897 560,139 West Bank – – 272,692 324,035 414,298 583,009 675,670 762,820 846,465 Gaza Strip 198,227 255,542 311,814 367,995 496,339 824,622 938,531 1,073,303 1,421,282 Total registered refugees 914,221 1,120,889 1,425,219 1,844,318 2,422,514 3,737,494 4,186,711 4,671,811 5,545,540

The number of Palestinian refugees living within the UNWRA registered area of operations is shown below, both those living in camps and those living outside camps:Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, 1 July 2003-30 June 2004, Supplement No. 13 (A/59/13) Table 3: Number and distribution of special hardship cases (as at 30 June 2004) Registered persons (refugees and other) Registered refugees in camps % registered refugees in camps 1953 870,158 300,785 34.6 1955 912,425 351,532 38.5 1960 1,136,487 409,223 36.0 1965 1,300,117 508,042 39.1 1970 1,445,022 500,985 34.7 1975 1,652,436 551,643 33.4 1980 1,863,162 613,149 32.9 1985 2,119,862 805,482 38.0 1990 2,466,516 697,709 28.3 1995 3,246,044 1,007,375 31.0 2000 3,806,055 1,227,954 32.3 2005 4,283,892 1,265,987 29.6 2010 4,966,664 1,452,790 29.3 2015 5,741,480 1,632,876 28.4 2018 6,171,793 1,728,409 28.0

The table below shows the population of registered refugees, other registered people, and refugees residing in camps, in 2018. UNRWA's definition of Other Registered Persons refer to "those who, at the time of original registration did not satisfy all of UNRWA's Palestine refugee criteria, but who were determined to have suffered significant loss and/or hardship for reasons related to the 1948 conflict in Palestine; they also include persons who belong to the families of other registered persons."Annual Operational Report 2019

Jordan Lebanon Syria West Bank Gaza Strip Total Registered refugees 2,242,579 475,075 560,139 846,465 1,421,282 5,545,540 Other registered people 133,902 58,810 83,003 201,525 149,013 626,253 Total registered people 2,376,481 533,885 643,142 1,047,990 1,570,295 6,171,793 Refugees living within official camp borders 412,054 270,614 194,993 256,758 593,990 1,728,409 % living within camp borders 18.4% 57.0% 34.8% 30.3% 41.8% 31.2%

See also List of extrajudicial killings and political violence in Lebanon Attacks on refugee camps in the Gaza war

References

Bibliography

External links

Maps