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.[1]
There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps in total, 58 official and 10 unofficial,[2] 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.[3] Most have integrated socially and economically outside the camps.[4] Many live in adjacent geographic areas. [5]
The number of registered Palestine refugees grew from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.[6]
History
-
Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon, 1952
-
Shatila refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut in 2019
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."[6]
UNRWA also extends assistance to the patrilineal descendants of such refugees, as well as their legally adopted children.[6]
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.[6]
List of camps
The camps are divided between five regions:
- Gaza Strip: The Gaza Strip has eight official and no unofficial refugee camps,[2] and 1,221,110 registered refugees.
- West Bank: The West Bank has 19 official and four unofficial refugee camps,[2] and 741,409 registered refugees.
- Syria: Syria has nine official refugee camps and three unofficial refugee camps,[2] and 499,189 registered refugees.
- Lebanon: There are 12 official refugee and no unofficial camps in Lebanon,[2] and 448,599 registered refugees.
- Jordan: There are 10 official and three unofficial refugee camps in Jordan,[2] and 2,034,641 registered refugees.
Population statistics
The evolution of Palestinian refugee population is shown below:[77][4]
| 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:[3][4][78]
| 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.[79] 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."[80]
| 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
References
- ^ UNWRA, Palestine refugees
- ^ a b c d e f UNRWA Annual Operational report 2019 for the Reporting period 01 January – 31 December 2019, pages 168-169, "Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Statistics"
- ^ a b 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)
- ^ a b c Ḥanafī, Sārī "Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of Legitimacy." (2010), page 6
- ^ BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 29, 34, 35
- ^ a b c d "Who We Are - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ UNRWA Yarmouk Camp
- ^ UNRWA Rafah Camp
- ^ UNRWA Baqa'a refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Jabalia Camp
- ^ UNRWA Khan Yunis Camp
- ^ "UNRWA: Refugee camp profiles: Gaza field office". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 27 February 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ UNRWA Al-Shati Camp
- ^ UNRWA Nuseirat Camp
- ^ UNRWA Ain al-Hilweh
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Report on fact-finding mission to Lebanon 2 – 18 May 1998" (PDF). newtodenmark.dk. The Danish Immigration Service. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ UNRWA Al-Wehdat refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Marka refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Jaramana
- ^ UNRWA Latakia Camp
- ^ UNRWA Bureij
- ^ "UNRWA: Refugee camp profiles: Gaza field office". UNRWA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ UNRWA Rashidieh
- ^ UNRWA Al-Abdali
- ^ UNRWA Maghazi (camp)
- ^ UNRWA Jerash
- ^ UNRWA Irbid
- ^ UNRWA Balata
- ^ UNRWA Deir al-Balah Camp
- ^ "UNRWA: Refugee camp profiles: Gaza field office". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 31 January 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ UNRWA Husn Camp
- ^ UNRWA Burj el-Shemali
- ^ UNRWA Shu'fat camp
- ^ UNRWA Qabr Essit
- ^ UNRWA Tulkarm Camp
- ^ UNRWA Beddawi refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Zarqa
- ^ UNRWA Bourj el-Barajneh
- ^ UNRWA Souf Camp
- ^ UNRWA Askar (camp)
- ^ UNRWA Al-Nayrab
- ^ UNRWA Dheisheh
- ^ UNRWA Kalandia Camp
- ^ a b c d e f BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, pages 30-33
- ^ "Palestinian Refugees and Displaced Camps in Jordan: Prince Hassan Camp". dpa.gov.jo. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ al-Husseini, Jalal (13 February 2013). "The Evolution of the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Jordan. Between Logics of Exclusion and Integration". Villes, pratiques urbaines et construction nationale en Jordanie. Presses de l’Ifpo. pp. 181–204. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ UNRWA Jenin Camp
- ^ UNRWA Jalazone
- ^ UNRWA Al-Sabinah
- ^ UNRWA Homs Camp
- ^ UNRWA Khan Dannun
- ^ UNRWA El-Buss refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Al-Arroub (camp)
- ^ UNRWA Khan al-Shih
- ^ UNRWA Shatila refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Nur Shams, Tulkarm
- ^ UNRWA Deraa
- ^ UNRWA Fawwar, Hebron
- ^ UNRWA Wavel
- ^ UNRWA Hama
- ^ UNRWA Aqabat Jaber
- ^ UNRWA Far'a
- ^ UNRWA Talbieh Camp
- ^ UNRWA Ein Beit al-Ma'
- ^ UNRWA Am'ari
- ^ UNRWA Ein el Tal
- ^ UNRWA Nahr al-Bared
- ^ UNRWA Mieh Mieh refugee camp
- ^ UNRWA Aida (camp)
- ^ UNRWA Dbayeh
- ^ UNRWA Ein as-Sultan
- ^ UNRWA 'Azza
- ^ UNRWA Deir 'Ammar Camp
- ^ "Qaddura camp profile" (PDF).
- ^ UNRWA Mar Elias refugee camp
- ^ "مخيم بير زيت" [Bir Zeit camp]. palcamps.net. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ 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)
- ^ BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 30
- ^ "in Figures 2019".
- ^ Annual Operational Report 2019
Bibliography
- Are Knudsen; Sari Hanafi (5 November 2010). Palestinian Refugees: Identity, Space and Place in the Levant. Routledge. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-1-136-88334-7.
External links
- 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