WEST BANK REFUGEE CAMP PROFILES

[click on each camp name on the map for a profile of the camp]

The West Bank covers 5,500 square kilometers with an estimated population of 1.8 million. Approximately, one quarter of the refugees live in nineteen recognized refugee camps and the majority live in West Bank towns and villages. Some camps are located next to major towns and others are situated in rural areas. While the West Bank has the largest number of camps in UNRWA's five fields of operations, the largest camp, Balata, has a similar size population to the smallest camp in Gaza.

After the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, and subsequent related agreements, the West Bank refugee camps gradually came under different zones: Shufat camp, which is situated within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, remained under Israeli control. Kalandia camp fell under "zone C" and remained under full Israeli control; six camps: Deir Ammar, Jalazone, Fawwar, Arroub, Far'a and Nur Shams, fell under joint Palestinian/Israeli control (zone B); and the remaining eleven camps fell under exclusive Palestinian Authority control (zone A). Following the implementation of the first phase of the 1998 Wye River Memorandum, Far'a and Nur Shams came under "zone A" raising the total number of camps under full Palestinian Authority control to thirteen.

Camp residents have been hard hit by closures imposed on the West Bank by the Israeli authorities, since they are largely dependent on income from work inside Israel. Subsequently, unemployment has risen and socio-economic conditions in the camps have deteriorated.

The West Bank camps are active social units. While UNRWA does not administer the camps, the Agency only administers its own installations and programmes. Camp residents run their own activities and camp committees in each camp are regarded as an official body representing the camp population. UNRWA sponsors a number of women's programme centres, community rehabilitation centres, and supports youth activities centres to cater to the needs of women, refugees with disabilities and youth. Several Palestinian NGOs as well as Palestinian Authority ministries are active in the West Bank camps and provide various services.

The Agency runs elementary and preparatory schools. However, the main problem facing UNRWA's education programme in the West Bank is overcrowding with an average of 50 pupils per classroom. Due to the growth in the school population and the shortage of school buildings, 24 schools are run on a double shift basis, i.e. they share the same school building, and 21 schools operate in rented premises. In addition, many schools have been damaged by Israeli military activity since September 2000.

The Agency runs a network of primary health care facilities and a 43-bed hospital in the town of Qalqilia. A major problem facing the Agency's health programme, as in other fields, is the high number of daily patients' visits to the health centres and the heavy workload of doctors and other health staff. The average number of patient visits per doctor per day is 89.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Number of schools: 94
• Student enrolment: 59,023
• Number of primary health care facilities: 36
• Annual medical and dental patient visits (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006): 1,543,538
• Refugees registered with UNRWA’s “special hardship” programme: 38,126
• Number of community rehabilitation centres: 15
• Number of women’s programme centres: 16
• Number of vocational and technical training centres: 3
• Vocational and technical training places: 1,352
• Number of microfinance and microenterprise loans awarded: 23,039
• Cumulative value of loans awarded: $ 27.677 million