Al-Shati refugee camp

Al-Shati (Arabic: مخيّم الشاطئ), also known as Shati or 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.

al-Shati
Refugee Camp
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicمخيّم الشاطئ
 • Latinash-Shati (official)
Beach camp (unofficial)
Shati Refugee Camp
Shati Refugee Camp
al-Shati is located in State of Palestine
al-Shati
al-Shati
Location of al-Shati within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°31′55.91″N 34°26′43.42″E
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateGaza
Government
 • TypeRefugee Camp (from 1949)
Area
 • Total520 dunams (0.52 km2 or 0.20 sq mi)
Population
 (2006)
 • Total87,158
 • Density170,000/km2 (430,000/sq mi)

Al-Shati was established in 1948 for about 23,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from the cities of Jaffa, Lod and Beersheba as well as surrounding villages during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The camp's total land area consists of 520 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] As of July 2023, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a population of 90,173 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 who fled or were expelled by Zionist militias from 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] In 2023, Al-Shati was hit by multiple airstrikes during the Israel-Hamas War.

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

See also

References
  1. Beach Camp United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
  2. Projected Mid -Year Population for Gaza Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)
  3. Badil Archived 2012-02-16 at the Wayback Machine 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).
  4. Palestine Israel Journal Refugee Resettlement: The Gaza Strip Experience by Norma Masriyeh
  5. Badil Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine The Continuing Catastrophe --1967 and beyond
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