Shuafat Refugee Camp

Basic Information

Type

Refugee Camp

Governorate

Jerusalem

Region

Jerusalem

Overview

Shuafat Refugee Camp is a unique and tragic anomaly: the only Palestinian refugee camp located within the boundaries of what Israel claims as its 'united Jerusalem,' yet physically separated from the rest of the city by a concrete wall and military checkpoint. The camp was established in 1965 by King Hussein of Jordan to relocate Palestinian refugees who had been living in the Muaskar (Moghrabi) area of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City since their displacement in the 1948 Nakba. When Israel occupied and annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, the camp found itself incorporated into the expanded municipal boundaries — a legal inclusion that has never been matched by any meaningful provision of municipal services. The original refugee population came primarily from villages and neighborhoods destroyed in 1948: Lifta, Qalunya, Ein Karem, Deir Yassin, Maliha, and parts of West Jerusalem. In 1965, approximately 1,500 refugees were moved to the new camp. By 2014, the population had exploded to approximately 24,000 — of whom an estimated 40-50% are not registered refugees but rather Palestinians with Jerusalem residency IDs who have been priced out of housing inside the wall and come to the camp seeking affordable accommodation. The construction of the separation wall has transformed the camp from a marginal neighborhood into an isolated ghetto. The Jerusalem municipality consistently refuses to provide services — roads, sewage, garbage collection, parks, or schools — claiming the camp is UNRWA's responsibility. UNRWA, chronically underfunded and facing repeated funding cuts (particularly from the US in 2018), struggles to provide basic education, health, and sanitation services. The result is a humanitarian crisis in the heart of Jerusalem: overcrowded streets, inadequate sewage systems, limited clean water, and substandard housing. Israeli police rarely enter the camp, citing 'security concerns,' while Palestinian Authority police are barred from operating in Israeli-controlled Jerusalem — creating a law enforcement vacuum where criminal elements and social problems fester without recourse.

Historical Significance

The only UNRWA-run refugee camp within officially Israeli territory. Represents the ongoing refugee issue in Jerusalem.

Sources and record limitations

Source detail varies by record. Some entries include document and page references; others supply source names only. Check the cited material and the record's limitations before relying on a specific claim.

• Ir Amim
• B'Tselem
• UN OCHA
• UNRWA
• ARIJ
• PCBS
• BADIL Resource Center

Shuafat Refugee Camp is a humanitarian crisis in the heart of Jerusalem. It is the only refugee camp within a major city that is walled off from the rest of that city and denied municipal services by the authority claiming sovereignty.