Al-Shati Camp
| al-Shati | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | مخيّم الشاطئ |
| • Also spelled |
ash-Shati (official) Beach camp (unofficial) |
  al-Shati Location of al-Shati within the Palestinian Territories | |
| Coordinates: 31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E / 31.5321972°N 34.4453944°ECoordinates: 31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E / 31.5321972°N 34.4453944°E | |
| Governorate | Gaza |
| Government | |
| • Type | Refugee Camp (from 1949) |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 727 dunams (0.7 km2 or 0.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 87,158 |
Al-Shati (Arabic: مخيّم الشاطئ), also known as Beach camp, is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the northern Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea coastline in the Gaza Governorate, and more specifically Gaza City. The camp's total land area consists of 727 dunums.[1] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Shati had a population of 87,158 inhabitants in mid-year 2006,[2] while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a population of 78,800 registered refugees.[1] The camp is the third largest refugee camp in the Palestinian Territories.
History
Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians fleeing the cities of Jaffa, Lod and Beersheba as well as surrounding villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1971, Israeli authorities demolished over 2,000 shelters for the purpose of widening the roads for security reasons. About 8,000 refugees were forced to leave the camp to the nearby housing project in Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City.[1][3][4][5]
Economy
Before September 2000, when Israel closed off its border with the Gaza Strip due to the violence of the Second Intifada, the majority of al-Shati's work force were laborers in Israel or worked in agriculture. Today, some refugees work in workshops and sewing factories. A sizable number of the camp's 2453 families depend on fishing for income. It contains a sewage system, a health center and 23 schools (17 primary, 6 secondary).[1]
People from Al-Shati
- Ismail Haniya, de facto Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
- Rashid Masharawi, filmmaker
- Said Seyam, assassinated Interior Minister of the Palestinian National Authority based in Gaza
- Yasser Elshantaf, Palestinian businessman living in Germany
See also
- Canada Camp (1972)
- Brazil project (1973)
- Shuqairi project (1973)
- Sheikh Radwan project (1974)
- Al-Amal project (1979)
References
- 1 2 3 4 Beach Camp United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
- ↑ Projected Mid -Year Population for Gaza Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)
- ↑ Badil During the 1970s, the Israeli military administration destroyed thousands of refugee shelters in the occupied Gaza Strip under the guise of security. Large refugee camps were targeted in particular. Refugees were forcefully resettled in other areas of the occupied Gaza Strip, with a smaller number transferred to the occupied West Bank. In the occupied Gaza Strip, several housing projects were established for these refugees. Some of these projects today are referred to as camps. These include the Canada project (1972), the Shuqairi project (1973), the Brazil project (1973), the Sheikh Radwan project (1974), and the al-Amal project (1979).
- ↑ Palestine Israel Journal Refugee Resettlement: The Gaza Strip Experience by Norma Masriyeh
- ↑ Badil The Continuing Catastrophe --1967 and beyond
External links
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- ↑ "Camp Profiles". unrwa.org. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Retrieved 2 July 2015.