Fawwar refugee camp

The southernmost of the West Bank camps, Fawwar was established in 1949 on 0.27 square kilometres of land, 10km south of Hebron.

The camp’s original inhabitants came from 18 villages in the Gaza, Hebron and Beersheeva areas. Like other West Bank camps, it was established on land UNRWA leased from the government of Jordan.

The residents of the camp depend almost entirely on work inside Israel and have been especially badly affected by the inaccessibility of the Israeli labour market. Unemployment stands at 32 per cent.

Fawwar is twinned with a French city, which provides cultural activities and limited financing for projects such as a computer lab.

All shelters are connected to public water and electricity infrastructure, though not all are connected to the public sewerage system.

Statistics

• More than 8,000 registered refugees
• Three schools, one running double shifts
• One food distribution centre
• One UNRWA health centre, four others
• One community-based rehabilitation centre
• One women’s programme centre
• Demographic profile:
  

Programmes in the camp

• Health
• Education
• Social safety-net
• Relief and social services
• Job creation programme
• Emergency food and cash assistance

Major problems

• High unemployment
• Insufficient sewage network
• Overcrowded schools