Palestinian refugee camps

Palestinian refugee camps were established after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to accommodate the Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian exodus. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 194 grants Palestinians the right to return to their homeland if they wish to "live at peace with their neighbors".

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) defines a Palestinian refugee 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."

In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Jewish refugees who fled or had been expelled during the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries were initially resettled in refugee camps known variously as Immigrant camps, Ma'abarot, and "development towns" prior to absorption into mainstream Israeli society. Conversely, many Palestinian refugees remain in Palestinian refugee camps, while others have been absorbed into Jordanian society or the Palestinian territories.

Role of UNRWA

UNRWA recognizes facilities in 59 designated refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It also provided relief to displaced persons inside Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for them in 1952.

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. Designated refugee camps, which 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), house around one third of all registered Palestine refugees. UNRWA also provides facilities in other areas where large numbers of registered Palestine refugees live outside of recognized camps.

UNRWA defines a Palestine refugee as:^[1]

"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's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of refugee males.^[1] The number of registered Palestine refugees (PR) has subsequently grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.^[1]

List of camps

This lists the current Palestine refugee camps with current population and year they were established.^[2]

Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip has 8 refugee camps and 1,221,110 registered refugees.

1948, Al-Shati (Beach camp), 87,000
1949, Bureij, 34,000
1948, Deir al-Balah Camp, 21,000
1948, Jabalia Camp, 110,000
1949, Khan Yunis Camp, 72,000
1949, Maghazi, 24,000
1949, Nuseirat Camp, 66,000
1949, Rafah Camp, 104,000

West Bank

The West Bank has 19 refugee camps and 741,409 registered refugees. One camp is unofficial (*).

1948, Aqabat Jaber, 6,400
1948, Ein as-Sultan, 1,900
1948, Qaddura camp*, 1,558
1949, Far'a, 7,600
1949, Fawwar, 8,000
1949, Jalazone, 11,000
1949, Kalandia, 11,000
1949, Am'ari, 10,500
1949, Deir 'Ammar Camp, 2,400
1949, Dheisheh, 13,000
1950, Aida, 4,700
1950, Al-Arroub, 10,400
1950, Askar, 15,900
1950, Balata, 23,600
1950, 'Azza (Beit Jibrin), 1,000
1950, Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1), 6,750
1950, Tulkarm camp, 18,000
1952, Nur Shams, 9,000
1953, Jenin camp, 16,000
1965, Shuafat camp, 11,000

Syria

Syria has 13 refugee camps and 499,189 registered refugees. Three of these camps are unofficial (*).

1948, Sbeineh, 22,600
1949, Khan Eshieh [ar], 20,000
1948, Neirab, 20,500
1949, Homs, 22,000
1948, Jaramana camp, 18,658
1950, Deraa camp, 10,000
1950, Hama camp, 8,000
1950, Khan Dannun, 10,000
1967, Qabr Essit, 23,700
1955-6, Latakia Camp*, 10,000
1957, Yarmouk*, 148,500
1962, Ein Al-Tal*, 6,000, also known as Handarat camp

Lebanon

There are 12 refugee camps in Lebanon and 448,599 registered refugees.

1948, Bourj el-Barajneh, 17,945
1948, Ain al-Hilweh, 54,116
1948, El Buss, 11,254
1949, Nahr al-Bared, 5,857
1949, Shatila, 9,842
1948, Wavel, 8,806
1952, Mar Elias, 662
1954, Mieh Mieh, 5,250
1955, Beddawi, 16,500
1955, Burj el-Shemali, 22,789
1956, Dbayeh camp, 4,351
1963, Rashidieh, 31,478

Jordan

There are 10 refugee camps in Jordan and 2,034,641 registered refugees.

1949, Zarqa camp, 20,000
1952, Jabal el-Hussein, 29,000
1955, Amman New Camp (Wihdat), 51,500
1967, Souf, 20,000
1968, Baqa'a, 104,000
1968, Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp), 22,000
1968, Irbid camp, 25,000
1968, Jerash camp, 24,000
1968, Marka, 53,000
1968, Talbieh [it], 7,000

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Who We Are - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
^ "Where We Work - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

External links

The Empire Files: Inside Palestine's Refugee Camps (October 2016), Abby Martin for The real news network and TeleSUR. A video report from the Balata and Aida camps in the West Bank (30 minutes).
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
Palestinian Refugees in Syria
Palestinian Refugees in Jordan
As rebuilding begins at lebanon's nahr al bared, displaced refugees are eager to return, William Wheeler and Don Duncan, World Politics Review, 11 March 2008
UN refugee agency unveils Palestinian archive

Maps

[WhoWeAre-1] "Who We Are - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

[2] "Where We Work - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.

[UNRWA-CampProfiles-3] "Camp Profiles". unrwa.org. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[1]

[2]

[1]