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Birzeit camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in 1948. It is located on both sides of a street in the center of the town of Birzeit [1] in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate. Until now, the camp has not been recognized by the United Nations refugee agency UNRWA.
Birzeit camp was established in 1948 in the town of Birzeit, located seven kilometers north of Ramallah, on an area of 23 dunams located on both sides of a street in the center of the city. Over time, the camp's area has shrunk to only 6 dunams. [2]
The population of Birzeit camp, when it was established in 1948, was estimated at 8,000 people. This number began to shrink due to the displacement of residents to neighboring towns or within the village of Birzeit, and the shrinkage of the camp's land area, in addition to the failure of the Refugee Relief Organization to recognize the camp, until in 1967 the population was only 86 people. The camp's population in 2010, according to statistics from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, was only about 180 people.
The demographic composition of the population of Birzeit camp consisted of residents of a number of Palestinian villages displaced in 1948, such as the villages of Kafarana, Abbasiya, Salamah, Beit Nabala, Al-Masmiyeh, Lod, Abu Shusha, and Quliya. At first, the refugees lived in tents, then they built small houses of stone and mud and roofed them with zinc boards. They were accustomed to paying symbolic rents to the landowner in exchange for their housing and use of the camp land, but with the passage of time the area of available land shrank. As it approached the point where it was no longer sufficient to accommodate the families inhabiting the camp, most of the refugees who lived in the camp have rented houses outside the camp or moved to other camps such as Al-Amari Camp, Al-Jalazoun Camp, and Aqabat Jabr Camp. Some of them were also displaced to other countries outside the Palestinian territories, such as Jordan, due to the limited and insufficient space of the camp, with many of the camp's residents unable to build a room or a place to live.
According to the statement of the head of the popular committee in the camp, Nasser Sharaya, the camp currently[ when? ] consists of forty-five independent buildings containing sixty-five residential apartments. [3]
The residents of Birzeit camp benefit from the services available in the town of Birzeit. They obtain water from the Jerusalem Water Company, and electricity from the town of Birzeit reaches about 15 homes in the camp, but there are up to five homes that do not have access to electricity. Waste collection service is available to camp residents, and Birzeit camp also contains a nutrition center for refugees, about 200 meters away from the camp.
There are no health services available inside the camp, forcing the camp residents to use the health center of the neighboring Jalazone camp, which is about three kilometers south of Birzeit camp, when they need to obtain treatment and medical services. [4] [5] [6]
In the 1950s, the Refugee Relief Organization (UNRWA) established a basic school for girls to serve the residents of Birzeit camp. The school consisted of two rooms that UNRWA rented from the residents. This remained the case until an official girls’ school was built in the town of Birzeit to serve the camp residents and all refugees in the town. Male students go to outside schools. [7]
Birzeit camp is still not officially recognized by the United Nations Refugee Relief Agency (UNRWA), nor is it listed with the ministries and departments of the Palestinian Authority government. This increases the difficulty of accessing accurate official digital information about the camp's area, population numbers and origins when the camp was established. [8]
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the Nakba, the 1948 Palestine War, and subsequent conflicts, as well as their descendants, including legally adopted children. As of 2019, more than 5.6 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA as refugees.
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68 Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.
Khan Yunis, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a Palestinian city serving as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip. It has been largely destroyed on account of the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
Lubya, sometimes referred to as Lubia, Lubieh and Loubieh, was a Palestinian Arab town located ten kilometers west of Tiberias that was captured and destroyed by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War where its residents were forcefully evacuated and became refugees. Nearby villages included Nimrin to the north, Hittin to the northwest, and al-Shajara to the south; Each of those villages were also depopulated.
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.
Qalandia or Qalandiya, also known as Kalandia, is a Palestinian village located in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, just west from the Jerusalem municipality boundary. The village had a population of 572 residents in 2017. Qalandia is also the name of a refugee camp, established by UNRWA in 1949. It is located just east from Jerusalem municipality. Qalandia refugee camp was built for Palestinian refugees from Lydda, Ramle and Jerusalem of the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.
Maghazi is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip. It was established in 1949. The camp is built on 559 dunums (0.6 km2). In July 2023, the UNRWA reported its population to be 33,000. During the first months of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, its population tripled and faced repeated airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Shuafat, also Shu'fat and Sha'fat, is a mostly Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem. Located on the old Jerusalem–Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shu'fat has a population of 35,000 residents.
Birzeit, also Bir Zeit, is a Palestinian Christian town north of Ramallah, in the West Bank. Its population in the 2017 census was 5,878. Birzeit is home to Birzeit University and to the Birzeit Brewery.
Yarmouk is a 2.11-square-kilometer (520-acre) district of the city of Damascus, populated by Palestinians. It is located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from the center of Damascus and within municipal boundaries; this was not the case when it was established in 1957. It contains hospitals and schools. Yarmouk is an "unofficial" refugee camp, as UNRWA rejected a Syrian government request to recognize the camp in 1960. Now depopulated, it was previously home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria. As of June 2002, there had been 112,550 registered refugees living in Yarmouk.
Aida, also spelled 'Ayda, is a Palestinian refugee camp situated 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the historic centre of Bethlehem and 1 km (0.62 mi) north of Beit Jala, in the central West Bank, State of Palestine.
Jalazone is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of Ramallah and adjacent to the village of Jifna to the north, Deir Dibwan to the east, Bir Zeit to the west and the Beit El Israeli settlement to the southeast.
Far'a, Faraa or al-Fari'ah is a Palestinian refugee camp in the foothills of the Jordan Valley in the northwestern West Bank. It is located 12 kilometers south of Jenin, 2 kilometers south of Tubas, 3 kilometers northwest of Tammun, and 17 kilometers northeast of Nablus.
'Azza also known as Beit Jibrin Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Bethlehem Governorate located within the city of Bethlehem. It is the smallest of the 59 refugee camps in the West Bank and the other Arab countries. It was established in 1950 in an area of 20 dunams and receives services from UNRWA workers based in nearby Aida camp, but inside the camp, there are no medical or educational services, so it was merged with the Aida camp to receive services.
Deir Ammar Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the camp had a population of 1,884 inhabitants in 2017.
Nuseirat is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the refugee camp had a population of 31,747 and the surrounding Nuseirat municipality had a population of 54,851 in 2017. The camp was established after the 1948 Palestinian expulsion during the 1948 Palestine war.
Mieh Mieh refugee camp is a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located on the outskirts of Mieh Mieh village in the hills 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) east of the southern city of Sidon. The original refugees in the camp generally came from Saffourieh, Tiereh, Haifa and Miron, in what is now Israel. It was established in 1954 on land leased from private landowners of the Miye ou Miye village. Around the 1990s, the Mieh Mieh camp was located on 60 dunams in Miye ou Miye village. Today, the camp is 1.8 times that size at 108 dunams. In 2003, it had a population of 5,037.
The Jenin refugee camp, also known as the Jenin camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. It was established in 1953 to house Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes by Israeli forces during and in the aftermath of the 1948 Palestine War. The camp has since become a stronghold of Palestinian militants and has become known as "the martyr's capital" by Palestinians, and "the hornets' nest" by Israelis.
Palestinians in Syria are people of Palestinian origin, most of whom have been residing in Syria after they were displaced from their homeland during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. Palestinians hold most of the same rights as the Syrian population, but cannot become Syrian nationals except in rare cases. In 2011, there were 526,744 registered Palestinian refugees in Syria. Due to the Syrian Civil War, the number of registered refugees has since dropped to about 450,000 due to many Palestinians fleeing to Lebanon, Jordan or elsewhere in the region to escaping to Europe as refugees, especially to Germany and Sweden.
Switzerland–Palestine relations refer to foreign relations between Switzerland and the State of Palestine. The Swiss government does not recognize the existence of a Palestinian state.
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