Nur Shams ( ar, مخيّم نور شمس) is a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
refugee camp in the
Tulkarm Governorate
The Tulkarm Governorate ( ar, محافظة طولكرم, Muḥāfaẓat Ṭūlkarm) is an administrative district and one of 16 Governorates of Palestine located in the north-western West Bank. The governorate's land area is 268 square kilometres ...
in the northwestern
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, located three kilometers east of
Tulkarm
Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...
. According to the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official
statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
, Nur Shams had a population of 6,479 inhabitants in 2007. 95.1% of the population of Nur Shams were refugees in 1997. The UNRWA-run healthcare facility for Nur Shams camp was re-built in 1996 with contributions from the Government of Germany.
Historian
Benny Morris
Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of t ...
describes it as having been "a lonely and exclusively Arab area" in early 1936.
During the Mandate period, a British detention camp was situated at Nur Shams.
Nur Shams camp was established in 1952 on 226 dunums. The camp was transferred to Palestinian Authority control in November 1998, after the signing of the
Wye River Memorandum
The Wye River Memorandum was an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at a summit in Wye River, Maryland, U.S., held from 15–23 October 1998. The Memorandum aimed to resume the implementation of the 1995 Interim ...
and the first phase of further Israeli redeployment.
The two schools in the camp are in poor condition and are listed on UNRWA's priority list for replacement pending securing of funds to carry out the project. A four story Boys' school was constructed in 2004 and has 1035 pupils, the girls' school was constructed in 2001 and has 975 pupils.
UNRWA Nur Shams camp profile
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See also
*Palestinian refugee camps
Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian ...
References
External links
Welcome To Nur Shams R.C.
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1952
Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank
Tulkarm Governorate
1952 establishments in Jordan