Al-Shati (camp)

Infobox Palestinian Authority muni
name=al-Shati Camp


imgsize=
caption=
arname=مخيّم الشاطئ
meaning=
founded=
type=ref
typefrom=1949
altOffSp=ash-Shati
altUnoSp=Beach camp
governorate=gz
latd=31|latm=31|lats=55.91|latNS=N
longd=34 |longm=26|longs=43.42|longEW=E
population=87,158
popyear=2006
area=727
areakm=0.7
mayor=

Al-Shati camp, 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. The camp's total land area consists of 727 dunums. [http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza/beach.html Beach Camp] United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), al-Shati had a population of 87,158 inhabitants in mid-year 2006, [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop13.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Gaza Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)] while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports a population of 78,800 registered refugees.

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.

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 2,453 families depend on fishing for income. It contains a sewage system, a health center and 23 schools (17 primary, 6 secondary).

People from Al-Shati

*Ismail Haniya, "de facto" Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
*Rashid Masharawi, filmmaker

References