Palestinian refugee camps

Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War or in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967, and their patrilineal descendants.^[1] There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps, 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.

Clickable map of the Palestinian refugee camps

Whilst only a third of registered Palestinian refugees live within the boundaries of the refugee camps,^[3] Palestinian refugees "show extraordinary social and economic integration outside the camps and informal gatherings".^[4] Many Palestinian refugees live in adjacent or nearby "gatherings", defined as "the geographic area, outside the official camps, which is home to a minimum 15 Palestinian households."^[5]

The total number of registered Palestine refugees has grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.^[6]

Definition of Palestinian refugee

Shatila refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut in May 2019

Shu'fat Camp in the city of Jerusalem. 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.

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]

Role of UNRWA

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.

Name	Founded	Location	Status	Coordinates	Population	Area (km2)	Density (pop/km2)	Comments	Refs
Yarmouk	1957	Syria	Unofficial	33°28′27″N 36°18′11″E	n.a.	2.1	n.a.	Largely destroyed (was 160,000 population)	[7]
Rafah	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°16′58.87″N 34°15′11.52″E	125,304	n.a.	n.a.		[8]
Baqa'a	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	32°04′25″N 35°50′35″E	119,000	1.4	85,000		[9]
Jabalia	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°32′20.81″N 34°29′57.63″E	113,990	1.4	81,421		[10]
Khan Yunis	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°21′3″N 34°17′18″E	87,816	0.549	159,956		[11][12]
Al-Shati (Beach camp)	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E	85,628	0.52	164,669		[13]
Nuseirat	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°26′51.56″N 34°23′34.35″E	80,194	n.a.	n.a.		[14]
Ain al-Hilweh	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°32′37″N 35°22′41″E	59,660	0.3	198,867		[15][16]
Al-Wehdat refugee camp (Amman New Camp)	1955	Jordan	UNRWA	31°55′35″N 35°56′18″E	57,000	0.48	118,750		[17]
Marka	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	32°00′33″N 36°01′14″E	53,000	0.92	57,609		[18]
Jaramana	1948	Syria	UNRWA	33°29′N 36°21′E	49,000	0.03	1,633,333		[19]
Latakia	1955–6	Syria	Unofficial	35°30′28″N 35°47′45″E	47,400	0.22	215,455		[20]
Bureij	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°26′22.31″N 34°24′10.58″E	43,330	0.529	81,909		[21][22]
Rashidieh	1963	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°14′12.12″N 35°13′5.16″E	34,584	0.25	138,336		[23][16]
Jabal el-Hussein	1952	Jordan	UNRWA	31°57′52″N 35°54′23″E	32,000	0.42	76,190		[24]
Maghazi	1949	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°25′16.89″N 34°23′07.35″E	31,329	0.6	52,215		[25]
Jerash	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	32°16′20.21″N 35°53′29.03″E	29,000	0.75	38,667		[26]
Irbid	1951	Jordan	UNRWA	32°33′0″N 35°51′0″E	28,000	0.24	116,667		[27]
Balata	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	32°12′N 35°17′E	27,000	0.25	108,000		[28]
Deir al-Balah	1948	Gaza Strip	UNRWA	31°25′33″N 34°20′26″E	25,569	0.16	159,806		[29][30]
Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp)	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	32°28′30″N 35°54′18″E	25,000	0.77	32,468		[31]
Burj el-Shemali	1955	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°15′47″N 35°14′20″E	24,929	0.134	186,037		[32][16]
Shu'fat camp	1965	West Bank	UNRWA	31°48′44″N 35°14′47″E	24,000	0.2	120,000		[33]
Qabr Essit	1967	Syria	UNRWA	33°26′50″N 36°20′10″E	23,700	0.02	1,185,000		[34]
Tulkarm	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	32°18′51″N 35°2′4″E	21,500	0.18	119,444		[35]
Beddawi	1955	Lebanon	UNRWA	34°27′0.64″N 35°52′9.17″E	21,252	0.2	106,260		[36][16]
Zarqa	1949	Jordan	UNRWA	32°05′N 36°06′E	20,000	0.18	111,111		[37]
Bourj el-Barajneh	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°50′54″N 35°30′12″E	19,539	0.104	187,875		[38][16]
Souf	1967	Jordan	UNRWA	32°18′30″N 35°53′7.37″E	19,000	0.5	38,000		[39]
Askar	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	32°13′11.51″N 35°17′50.77″E	18,500	0.119	155,462		[40]
Al-Nayrab	1948	Syria	UNRWA	36°10′32″N 37°13′40″E	18,000	0.15	120,000		[41]
Dheisheh	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	31°41′38.47″N 35°11′02.96″E	15,000	0.33	45,455		[42]
Qalandia	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	33°19′55″N 36°19′56″E	14,800	0.42	35,238		[43]
Al-Hassan	1967	Jordan	Unofficial	31°57′27″N 35°58′19″E	14,068	n.a.	n.a.		[44][45][46]
Jenin	1953	West Bank	UNRWA	32°27′41″N 35°17′11″E	14,000	0.42	33,333		[47]
Jalazone	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	31°57′07.15″N 35°12′41.58″E	13,000	0.253	51,383		[48]
Al-Sabinah	1948	Syria	UNRWA	33°26′2″N 36°17′8″E	13,000	0.03	433,333		[49]
Homs	1949	Syria	UNRWA	34°42′30.29″N 36°42′26.62″E	13,000	0.15	86,667		[50]
Khan Danoun	1950	Syria	UNRWA	33°19′55″N 36°19′56″E	12,650	0.03	421,667		[51]
El Buss	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°16′21″N 35°12′36″E	12,281	0.08	153,513		[52][16]
Al-Arroub	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	31°37′23.18″N 35°08′12.19″E	12,000	0.24	50,000		[53]
Khan al-Shih	1949	Syria	UNRWA	33°21′30″N 36°6′26″E	12,000	0.69	17,391		[54]
Shatila	1949	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°51′46″N 35°29′54″E	10,849	0.04	271,225		[55][16]
Nur Shams	1952	West Bank	UNRWA	32°19′07.36″N 35°03′31.63″E	10,500	0.21	50,000		[56]
Daraa	1950	Syria	UNRWA	32°37′N 36°6′E	10,500	1.3	8,077		[57]
Fawwar	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	31°28′46.45″N 35°03′52.93″E	9,500	0.27	35,185		[58]
Wavel	1948	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°59′56.27″N 36°11′35.46″E	9,460	0.043	220,000		[59][16]
Hama	1950	Syria	UNRWA	35°08′N 36°45′E	9,000	0.06	150,000		[60]
Aqabat Jaber	1948	West Bank	UNRWA	31°50′17.00″N 35°26′30.20″E	8,600	1.67	5,150		[61]
Madaba camp	1956	Jordan	Unofficial	31°42′41″N 35°47′15″E	8,597	n.a.	n.a.		[44]
Far'a	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	32°17′38.35″N 35°20′39.74″E	8,500	0.26	32,692		[62]
Talbieh Camp	1968	Jordan	UNRWA	31°42′19″N 35°56′57″E	8,000	0.13	61,538		[63]
Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1)	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	32°13′48.91″N 35°14′58.42″E	7,500	0.045	166,667		[64]
Sokhna camp	1969	Jordan	Unofficial	32°7′59″N 36°4′20″E	7,424	n.a.	n.a.	sometimes transliterated 'Sakhna' or 'Sukhna'	[44]
Am'ari	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	31°53′38.60″N 35°12′41.52″E	7,000	0.096	72,917		[65]
Ein Al-Tal (also known as Handarat camp)	1962	Syria	Unofficial	36°17′34.84″N 37°9′24.86″E	n.a.	0.16	n.a.	Largely destroyed (was 7,000 population)	[66]
Nahr al-Bared	1949	Lebanon	UNRWA	34°30′47″N 35°57′40″E	5,857	0.198	29,581	Reconstructed, was 27,000 population	[67][16]
Mieh Mieh	1954	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°32′30″N 35°23′29″E	5,747	0.054	106,426		[68][16]
Aida	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	31°43′10.34″N 35°11′56.31″E	5,500	0.071	77,465		[69]
Dbayeh	1956	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°54′N 35°34′E	4,591	0.084	54,655		[70][16]
Ein as-Sultan camp	1948	West Bank	UNRWA	31°52′40.24″N 35°26′46.24″E	3,800	0.87	4,368		[71]
'Azza (Beit Jibrin)	1950	West Bank	UNRWA	31°42′54.78″N 35°12′07.61″E	2,900	0.027	107,407		[72]
Deir 'Ammar Camp	1949	West Bank	UNRWA	31°57′57.22″N 35°05′55.98″E	2,500	0.162	15,432		[73]
Qaddura camp	1948	West Bank	Unofficial	31°54′3.32″N 35°12′21.18″E	1,558	n.a.	n.a.		[74]
Mar Elias refugee camp	1952	Lebanon	UNRWA	33°52′38″N 35°29′19″E	725	0.0054	134,259		[75][16]
Silwad Camp	1971	West Bank	Unofficial	31°58′5″N 35°15′41″E	462	n.a.	n.a.		[44]
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	[44]
Birzeit camp (As-Saqaeif)	1948	West Bank	Unofficial	31°58′12″N 35°12′01″E	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.		[44][76]

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

• Airstrikes on Palestinian refugee camps during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

References

1. UNWRA, Palestine refugees
2. UNRWA Annual Operational report 2019 for the Reporting period 01 January – 31 December 2019, pages 168-169, "Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Statistics"
3. 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)
4. Ḥanafī, Sārī "Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of Legitimacy." (2010), page 6
5. BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 29, 34, 35
6. "Who We Are - UNRWA". UNRWA. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
7. UNRWA Yarmouk Camp
8. UNRWA Rafah Camp
9. UNRWA Baqa'a refugee camp
10. UNRWA Jabalia Camp
11. UNRWA Khan Yunis Camp
12. "UNRWA: Refugee camp profiles: Gaza field office". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 27 February 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
13. UNRWA Al-Shati Camp
14. UNRWA Nuseirat Camp
15. UNRWA Ain al-Hilweh
16. "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.
17. UNRWA Al-Wehdat refugee camp
18. UNRWA Marka refugee camp
19. UNRWA Jaramana
20. UNRWA Latakia Camp
21. UNRWA Bureij
22. "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)
23. UNRWA Rashidieh
24. UNRWA Al-Abdali
25. UNRWA Maghazi (camp)
26. UNRWA Jerash
27. UNRWA Irbid
28. UNRWA Balata
29. UNRWA Deir al-Balah Camp
30. "UNRWA: Refugee camp profiles: Gaza field office". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 31 January 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
31. UNRWA Husn Camp
32. UNRWA Burj el-Shemali
33. UNRWA Shu'fat camp
34. UNRWA Qabr Essit
35. UNRWA Tulkarm Camp
36. UNRWA Beddawi refugee camp
37. UNRWA Zarqa
38. UNRWA Bourj el-Barajneh
39. UNRWA Souf Camp
40. UNRWA Askar (camp)
41. UNRWA Al-Nayrab
42. UNRWA Dheisheh
43. UNRWA Kalandia Camp
44. BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, pages 30-33
45. "Palestinian Refugees and Displaced Camps in Jordan: Prince Hassan Camp". dpa.gov.jo. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
46. 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.
47. UNRWA Jenin Camp
48. UNRWA Jalazone
49. UNRWA Al-Sabinah
50. UNRWA Homs Camp
51. UNRWA Khan Dannun
52. UNRWA El-Buss refugee camp
53. UNRWA Al-Arroub (camp)
54. UNRWA Khan al-Shih
55. UNRWA Shatila refugee camp
56. UNRWA Nur Shams, Tulkarm
57. UNRWA Deraa
58. UNRWA Fawwar, Hebron
59. UNRWA Wavel
60. UNRWA Hama
61. UNRWA Aqabat Jaber
62. UNRWA Far'a
63. UNRWA Talbieh Camp
64. UNRWA Ein Beit al-Ma'
65. UNRWA Am'ari
66. UNRWA Ein el Tal
67. UNRWA Nahr al-Bared
68. UNRWA Mieh Mieh refugee camp
69. UNRWA Aida (camp)
70. UNRWA Dbayeh
71. UNRWA Ein as-Sultan
72. UNRWA 'Azza
73. UNRWA Deir 'Ammar Camp
74. "Qaddura camp profile" (PDF).
75. UNRWA Mar Elias refugee camp
76. "مخيم بير زيت" [Bir Zeit camp]. palcamps.net. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
77. 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)
78. BADIL Refugee Survey 2016-18, page 30
79. "in Figures 2019".
80. 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

Maps

• Fields of operation, 2014 map by UNRWA
• Camps in Lebanon
• Camps in the Palestinian territories