Closure of UNRWA facilities deepens crisis in Jerusalem’s Shuafat Refugee Camp

During the Nakba of 1948, zionist paramilitaries — from which the Israeli ‘Defence’ Force (IDF) was formed — destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages. They also forcibly displaced around 750,000 of Palestine’s 1.4 million Arab population. As a result of this mass displacement and expulsion, Palestinian refugee camps were established in the West Bank. These were managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), especially set up after 1948 for the welfare and human development of Palestinian refugees.

3,500 Palestinians from Jerusalem were displaced during the Nakba. Eventually they ended up in Shuafat Refugee Camp

UNRWA closes in Jerusalem

In the old city of Jerusalem, UNRWA hosted around 500 Palestinian families, approximately 3,500 people, in its Centre for Refugees. But in 1964, these refugees were moved from Jerusalem’s old city, which is now the Jewish Quarter, to Shuafat Refugee Camp. Each family was given a plot of land, but nothing more, and until the 1970s there were no roads or electricity either.

Dr. Salim Anati was brought up in Shuafat Refugee Camp. He is a retired doctor who worked in UNRWA’s health centre there, before its closure by the Israeli occupation. 

Around 42,000 people now live inside the one square kilometre camp. Another 40,000 people live in the area adjacent to it, and the numbers continue to rise. According to Dr. Anati, five or six thousand people have made Shuafat Refugee Camp their home in the past few years alone. Buildings are constructed upwards to save space. But as with all Palestinian structures, planning permission is not granted, and so home demolitions are common.

The Camp is technically within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, and many residents hold Jerusalem ID cards. But in 2003 the occupation built the separation barrier. This now surrounds the whole area and separates the refugee camp from Jerusalem. 

Dr. Anati says life is very hard for the residents. Many of their problems stem from a checkpoint at the entrance to the camp. This is manned 24 hours a day by the Israeli occupation.

Checkpoint makes life very difficult for residents of Shuafat Refugee Camp

Dr. Anati says:

If we want to go to Jerusalem, we have to pass the checkpoint. This restricts the movement of the people, and creates economic and psychological problems for them. People here used to go smoothly to East Jerusalem, but now they are losing their jobs, and there is around 47 percent unemployment.

There are problems with the checkpoint now, and people started to accept the situation, so they don’t leave the camp. It’s like a big jail here, of more than 80,000 in the area. Many Palestinians are also beaten at the checkpoint, or shot and killed by the Israeli police for no reason. It’s collective punishment for the refugees. They want to get rid of them, so that they can’t take back their homes from 1948.

For several years now, the Israeli occupation has made every effort to paralyse UNRWA in any means possible. And now the Agency has been banned from operating in ‘Israel’ and the occupied Palestinian territories. Just last week, ‘Israel’ brought in bulldozers and tore down UNRWA’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In a statement, UN Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, said this latest attack was part of an “ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestinian refugees, and erase their history.”

As a result, all UNRWA facilities in refugee camps in the occupied territory are now closed. And have had their electricity, water and communications cut. This includes the three schools in Shuafat camp, and the health centre where Dr. Anati used to work.

UNRWA also used to collect rubbish, take care of the streets, water and sewage system, and run health awareness programmes.

He says:

These have all stopped now. We don’t know what will happen in the future. They say the municipality will take care of these things, but the people must pay tax for the services. All people would be forced to pay. The people are in a bad place, things are very difficult and they are suffering.

Kids can’t go to school here now, and the health centre is closed so there is no more medication for the community. Children aren’t vaccinated any more. Women, the elderly, disabled and chronically ill are also affected.

But Israeli occupation forces have not only gone after UNRWA in Shuafat refugee camp. They also harass and impose conditions on other facilities important to the community. On 28 January, a fine equivalent to more than £60,000 was imposed on Shuafat refugee camp’s youth centre, which provides education and vital activities for children aged between 12 and 17 years.

Children severely traumatised by the almost daily violent raids

Dr. Anati and some of his friends from the refugee camp, established Al Quds Charitable Trust, back in 1993, with the aim of easing the hardships of the residents of the camp. Things have become increasingly difficult in the West Bank since the start of the genocide in Gaza, Dr. Anati describes the situation as collective punishment and says more people than ever are asking for the charity’s support and assistance. Many benefit from the physiotherapy sessions, whilst a lawyer is available to provide essential legal advice.

The charity’s centre also teaches women handicrafts and embroidery, with the aim of these skills providing a livelihood for them and their family. Several Bedouin communities close to Shuafat camp, who are regularly targeted by Israeli occupation authorities and settlers, are also supported. Many activities are also organised for children.

Dr. Anati says:

We work with the YMCA in Jerusalem, to provide psychosocial support. We also now have a speech therapy programme, that we didn’t have before. Children are really affected by the daily raids on the camp. They get traumatised and have nightmares, bed wetting, difficulties speaking and writing. So we try and help them.

These violent raids, carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and border police, have been increasing since October 2023, but over the past two months they have occurred on an often daily basis, at all times of the day and night, without warning. Children returning home find themselves being chased, beaten, shot at and arrested for no reason at all. The Israeli occupation also attacks people in their homes, often smashing down their doors and causing widespread destruction. These raids do not only have a psychological impact on those living in the refugee camp but also can cause them severe health issues — due to the widespread use of tear gas, which can often lead to infections and suffocation.

But tear gas is not the only cause of health problems. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure are increasing among the population, as are respiratory and gastrointestinal problems.

UNRWA closure creates a growing number of health problems

Dr. Anati explains:

Nowadays, no less than 20 percent of the population in this camp have diabetes. Health conditions are deteriorating because of the stress and pressure, unhealthy conditions, and psychosocial problems here. And the lack of medicines also has an influence on and adds to the complications these people face.

The Al Quds Charitable Trust is run entirely by volunteers. It has no regular funding source. Unfortunately, due to Israeli occupation’s restrictions, no Palestinian charities in Jerusalem are permitted to receive any funding through their bank accounts — they rely entirely on the generosity of visitors. But despite the numerous efforts to drive Palestinians away from Shuafat refugee camp, its residents remain determined to stay. 

Dr. Anati and others like him continue working to keep the services and sense of community going, that UNRWA, until very recently provided. Although the Israeli occupation wants these Palestinians to leave, they are going nowhere. And in the face of recurrent raids, poverty and isolation behind the separation barrier, life inside the camp has become a daily act of resistance and resilience.

Featured image via UN RWA