Palestinian refugee camps

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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.<ref>UNWRA, Palestine refugees</ref>

There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps in total, 58 official and 10 unofficial,<ref name=UNRWA2019>UNRWA Annual Operational report 2019 for the Reporting period 01 January – 31 December 2019, pages 168-169, "Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Statistics"</ref> 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.<ref name=UNWRA2004table3/> Most have integrated socially and economically outside the camps.<ref name=Hanafi/> Many live in adjacent geographic areas. <ref>BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 29, 34, 35</ref>

The number of registered Palestine refugees grew from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.<ref name="WhoWeAre">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

Nahr al-Bared refugee camp 1952.webp

Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon, 1952
Shatila - street view (3).jpg

Shatila refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut in 2019

Role of UNRWAEdit

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."<ref name="WhoWeAre"/>

UNRWA also extends assistance to the patrilineal descendants of such refugees, as well as their legally adopted children.<ref name="WhoWeAre"/>

File:ShufatCampJuly142023 05.jpg

Shu'fat Camp in the city of Jerusalem, 2023. The official area of the camp is in the center of the image and is characterized by low-rise buildings; on either side of the camp are additional Palestinian neighborhoods located beyond the Israeli West Bank barrier (visible at the bottom of the image), where the buildings are taller.

File:Nabatieh Camp before and after.jpg

Nabatieh refugee camp before and after its destruction by the Israeli military in 1974

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.<ref name="WhoWeAre"/>

List of campsEdit

The camps are divided between five regions:

Gaza Strip: The Gaza Strip has eight official and no unofficial refugee camps,<ref name=UNRWA2019/> and 1,221,110 registered refugees.
West Bank: The West Bank has 19 official and four unofficial refugee camps,<ref name=UNRWA2019/> and 741,409 registered refugees.
Syria: Syria has nine official refugee camps and three unofficial refugee camps,<ref name=UNRWA2019/> and 499,189 registered refugees.
Lebanon: There are 12 official refugee and no unofficial camps in Lebanon,<ref name=UNRWA2019/> and 448,599 registered refugees.
Jordan: There are 10 official and three unofficial refugee camps in Jordan,<ref name=UNRWA2019/> and 2,034,641 registered refugees.

Name	Founded	Location	Status	Coordinates	Population	Area (km²)	Density (pop/km²)	Comments	Refs
Yarmouk	1957	Syria	Unofficial	Template:Coord	n.a.	2.1	n.a.	Largely destroyed (was 160,000 population)	<ref>UNRWA Yarmouk Camp</ref>
Rafah	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	125,304	n.a.	n.a.		<ref>UNRWA Rafah Camp</ref>
Baqa'a	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	119,000	1.4	85,000		<ref>UNRWA Baqa'a refugee camp</ref>
Jabalia	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	113,990	1.4	81,421		<ref>UNRWA Jabalia Camp</ref>
Khan Yunis	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	87,816	0.549	159,956		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Al-Shati (Beach camp)	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	85,628	0.52	164,669		<ref>UNRWA Al-Shati Camp</ref>
Nuseirat	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	80,194	n.a.	n.a.		<ref>UNRWA Nuseirat Camp</ref>
Ain al-Hilweh	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	59,660	0.3	198,867		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Al-Wehdat refugee camp (Amman New Camp)	1955	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	57,000	0.48	118,750		<ref>UNRWA Al-Wehdat refugee camp</ref>
Marka	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	53,000	0.92	57,609		<ref>UNRWA Marka refugee camp</ref>
Jaramana	1948	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	49,000	0.03	1,633,333		<ref>UNRWA Jaramana</ref>
Latakia	1955–6	Syria	Unofficial	Template:Coord	47,400	0.22	215,455		<ref>UNRWA Latakia Camp</ref>
Bureij	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	43,330	0.529	81,909		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rashidieh	1963	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	34,584	0.25	138,336		<ref>UNRWA Rashidieh</ref><ref name=":0" />
Jabal el-Hussein	1952	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	32,000	0.42	76,190		<ref>UNRWA Al-Abdali</ref>
Maghazi	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	31,329	0.6	52,215		<ref>UNRWA Maghazi (camp)</ref>
Jerash	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	29,000	0.75	38,667		<ref>UNRWA Jerash</ref>
Irbid	1951	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	28,000	0.24	116,667		<ref>UNRWA Irbid</ref>
Balata	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	27,000	0.25	108,000		<ref>UNRWA Balata</ref>
Deir al-Balah	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	Template:Coord	25,569	0.16	159,806		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp)	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	25,000	0.77	32,468		<ref>UNRWA Husn Camp</ref>
Burj el-Shamali	1955	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	24,929	0.134	186,037		<ref>UNRWA Burj el-Shemali</ref><ref name=":0" />
Shu'fat camp	1965	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	24,000	0.2	120,000		<ref>UNRWA Shu'fat camp</ref>
Qabr Essit	1967	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	23,700	0.02	1,185,000		<ref>UNRWA Qabr Essit</ref>
Tulkarm	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	21,500	0.18	119,444		<ref>UNRWA Tulkarm Camp</ref>
Beddawi	1955	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	21,252	0.2	106,260		<ref>UNRWA Beddawi refugee camp</ref><ref name=":0" />
Zarqa	1949	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	20,000	0.18	111,111		<ref>UNRWA Zarqa</ref>
Bourj el-Barajneh	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	19,539	0.104	187,875		<ref>UNRWA Bourj el-Barajneh</ref><ref name=":0" />
Souf	1967	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	19,000	0.5	38,000		<ref>UNRWA Souf Camp</ref>
Askar	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	18,500	0.119	155,462		<ref>UNRWA Askar (camp)</ref>
Al-Nayrab	1948	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	18,000	0.15	120,000		<ref>UNRWA Al-Nayrab</ref>
Dheisheh	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	15,000	0.33	45,455		<ref>UNRWA Dheisheh</ref>
Qalandia	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	14,800	0.42	35,238		<ref>UNRWA Kalandia Camp</ref>
Al-Hassan	1967	Jordan	Unofficial	Template:Coord	14,068	n.a.	n.a.		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Jenin	1953	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	14,000	0.42	33,333		<ref>UNRWA Jenin Camp</ref>
Jalazone	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	13,000	0.253	51,383		<ref>UNRWA Jalazone</ref>
Al-Sabinah	1948	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	13,000	0.03	433,333		<ref>UNRWA Al-Sabinah</ref>
Homs	1949	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	13,000	0.15	86,667		<ref>UNRWA Homs Camp</ref>
Khan Danoun	1950	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	12,650	0.03	421,667		<ref>UNRWA Khan Dannun</ref>
El Buss	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	12,281	0.08	153,513		<ref>UNRWA El-Buss refugee camp</ref><ref name=":0" />
Al-Arroub	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	12,000	0.24	50,000		<ref>UNRWA Al-Arroub (camp)</ref>
Khan al-Shih	1949	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	12,000	0.69	17,391		<ref>UNRWA Khan al-Shih</ref>
Shatila	1949	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	10,849	0.04	271,225		<ref>UNRWA Shatila refugee camp</ref><ref name=":0" />
Nur Shams	1952	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	10,500	0.21	50,000		<ref>UNRWA Nur Shams, Tulkarm</ref>
Daraa	1950	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	10,500	1.3	8,077		<ref>UNRWA Deraa</ref>
Fawwar	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	9,500	0.27	35,185		<ref>UNRWA Fawwar, Hebron</ref>
Wavel	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	9,460	0.043	220,000		<ref>UNRWA Wavel</ref><ref name=":0" />
Hama	1950	Syria	UNRWA	Template:Coord	9,000	0.06	150,000		<ref>UNRWA Hama</ref>
Aqabat Jaber	1948	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	8,600	1.67	5,150		<ref>UNRWA Aqabat Jaber</ref>
Madaba camp	1956	Jordan	Unofficial	Template:Coord	8,597	n.a.	n.a.		<ref name="BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18"/>
Far'a	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	8,500	0.26	32,692		<ref>UNRWA Far'a</ref>
Talbieh Camp	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	Template:Coord	8,000	0.13	61,538		<ref>UNRWA Talbieh Camp</ref>
Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1)	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	7,500	0.045	166,667		<ref>UNRWA Ein Beit al-Ma'</ref>
Sokhna camp	1969	Jordan	Unofficial	Template:Coord	7,424	n.a.	n.a.	sometimes transliterated 'Sakhna' or 'Sukhna'	<ref name="BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18"/>
Am'ari	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	7,000	0.096	72,917		<ref>UNRWA Am'ari</ref>
Ein Al-Tal (also known as Handarat camp)	1962	Syria	Unofficial	Template:Coord	n.a.	0.16	n.a.	Largely destroyed (was 7,000 population)	<ref>UNRWA Ein el Tal</ref>
Nahr al-Bared	1949	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	5,857	0.198	29,581	Reconstructed, was 27,000 population	<ref>UNRWA Nahr al-Bared</ref><ref name=":0" />
Mieh Mieh	1954	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	5,747	0.054	106,426		<ref>UNRWA Mieh Mieh refugee camp</ref><ref name=":0" />
Aida	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	5,500	0.071	77,465		<ref>UNRWA Aida (camp)</ref>
Dbayeh	1956	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	4,591	0.084	54,655		<ref>UNRWA Dbayeh</ref><ref name=":0" />
Ein as-Sultan camp	1948	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	3,800	0.87	4,368		<ref>UNRWA Ein as-Sultan</ref>
'Azza (Beit Jibrin)	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	2,900	0.027	107,407		<ref>UNRWA 'Azza</ref>
Deir 'Ammar Camp	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	Template:Coord	2,500	0.162	15,432		<ref>UNRWA Deir 'Ammar Camp</ref>
Qaddura camp	1948	West Bank	Unofficial	Template:Coord	1,558	n.a.	n.a.		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mar Elias refugee camp	1952	Lebanon	UNRWA	Template:Coord	725	0.0054	134,259		<ref>UNRWA Mar Elias refugee camp</ref><ref name=":0" />
Silwad Camp	1971	West Bank	Unofficial	Template:Coord	462	n.a.	n.a.		<ref name="BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18"/>
Abu Shukheidim camp	1948	West Bank	Unofficial		n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	Town of Abu Shukhaydam (sic) shows on maps as ~1mi SW of Birzeit	<ref name="BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18"/>
Birzeit camp (As-Saqaeif)	1948	West Bank	Unofficial	Template:Coord	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Population statisticsEdit

The evolution of Palestinian refugee population is shown below:<ref name=UNWRA2004table2>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)</ref><ref name=Hanafi>Ḥanafī, Sārī "Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of Legitimacy." (2010), page 6</ref>

	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:<ref name=UNWRA2004table3>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)</ref><ref name=Hanafi/><ref>BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 30</ref>

	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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref>Annual Operational Report 2019</ref>

	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%