Deir al-Balah camp
Encyclopedia
Deir al-Balah camp is located one kilometer northwest of the center of Deir al-Balah town, of which it is part. (The town is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate
, Gaza Strip
.) It is designated as a Palestinian refugee camp by the UN General Assembly and the Hamas government although it is a permanent settlement of concrete buildings (and not tents) and has eight schools, sewers, and other municipal services. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the settlement had a population of 12,004 in mid-year 2006. The settlement is the smallest designated as a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
. The settlement is built on an area of 0.16 square kilometers (16 hectares; 39 acres (157,827.5 m²); ). As of March 2005, the population registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was 19,534 persons.
The original residents of the camp, as with most other Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, came from villages and towns in central and southern pre-1948 Palestine.
Before the 2005 implementation of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
, the settlement (and town of which it is part) was surrounded by Israeli settlements - Kfar Darom
to the north and Gush Katif
to the south - and the highly militarized Abul Holi junction that separated the north of Gaza from the south was located on Deir al-Balah land.
In late 1997, the Palestinian Authority demolished several buildings in the settlement in order to extend the main coastal road between the town and the Mediterranean sea
. Several families were given small plots of land and some financial compensation in order to build new homes outside the settlement.
There was no sewage system in the original Deir el-Balah camp; Palestinian managed UNRWA constructed one in 1998 with financial assistance from Japan
. In the permanent settlement there are eight Palestinian managed UNRWA schools - six elementary and two preparatory - serving about 8,000 students.
Most residents had worked as laborers in Israel
before the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
. A minority of residents have also worked as local farm laborers.
, the settlement was the site of several Israeli incursions:
In May 2001, a funeral for four-month-old Iman Hejjo, killed by shrapnel during an Israeli attack on Khan Younis settlement, was held in the Deir al-Balah settlement and attended by hundreds of mourners. Her father Mohammed, a policeman, told Reuters
that "The killing of my baby will remain as a stigma on the face of Israel and the international community."
On 13 February 2002, Palestinian
policeman and settlment resident, Shadi Mustafah El-Hassanat, was killed along with two other policeman after five Israeli tanks raided the eastern part of Deir al-Balah and fired flechette shells at them while they sought refuge in a small room near their post.
Residents of Deir al-Balah settlement have also been involved in attempted attacks on Israeli settlements:
On 22 November 2003, 24-year old Muhammad Suleiman Khalil Sarsur of Deir al-Balah settlement was killed by Israeli security forces while attempting to infiltrate the Netzarim
settlement.
On 6 October 2004, 17-year old 'Ali Khaled 'Ali al-Jaru and 21-year old Iyad Fa'iz Yusef Abu al-'Ata, both of Deir al-Balah settlement, were killed by Israeli security forces while attempting to attack the Kfar Darom
settlement.
Deir al-Balah Governorate
The Deir el-Balah Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority in the central Gaza Strip which is administered by the Palestinian National Authority aside from its border with Israel, airspace and maritime territory. Its total land area consists of 56 sq. kilometers...
, Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.) It is designated as a Palestinian refugee camp by the UN General Assembly and the Hamas government although it is a permanent settlement of concrete buildings (and not tents) and has eight schools, sewers, and other municipal services. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, the settlement had a population of 12,004 in mid-year 2006. The settlement is the smallest designated as a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. The settlement is built on an area of 0.16 square kilometers (16 hectares; 39 acres (157,827.5 m²); ). As of March 2005, the population registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was 19,534 persons.
History
Originally, the settlement was a camp housing 9,000 refugees in tents and then mud-brick structures, which were replaced with cement block structures in the early 1960s. The current population is about twice that of the original refugee population, most of whom are now dead.The original residents of the camp, as with most other Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, came from villages and towns in central and southern pre-1948 Palestine.
Before the 2005 implementation of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
, the settlement (and town of which it is part) was surrounded by Israeli settlements - Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
to the north and Gush Katif
Gush Katif
Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...
to the south - and the highly militarized Abul Holi junction that separated the north of Gaza from the south was located on Deir al-Balah land.
In late 1997, the Palestinian Authority demolished several buildings in the settlement in order to extend the main coastal road between the town and the Mediterranean sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. Several families were given small plots of land and some financial compensation in order to build new homes outside the settlement.
There was no sewage system in the original Deir el-Balah camp; Palestinian managed UNRWA constructed one in 1998 with financial assistance from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In the permanent settlement there are eight Palestinian managed UNRWA schools - six elementary and two preparatory - serving about 8,000 students.
Most residents had worked as laborers in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
before the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
. A minority of residents have also worked as local farm laborers.
Events during Al-Aqsa Intifada
Throughout the Al-Aqsa IntifadaAl-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
, the settlement was the site of several Israeli incursions:
In May 2001, a funeral for four-month-old Iman Hejjo, killed by shrapnel during an Israeli attack on Khan Younis settlement, was held in the Deir al-Balah settlement and attended by hundreds of mourners. Her father Mohammed, a policeman, told Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
that "The killing of my baby will remain as a stigma on the face of Israel and the international community."
On 13 February 2002, Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
policeman and settlment resident, Shadi Mustafah El-Hassanat, was killed along with two other policeman after five Israeli tanks raided the eastern part of Deir al-Balah and fired flechette shells at them while they sought refuge in a small room near their post.
Residents of Deir al-Balah settlement have also been involved in attempted attacks on Israeli settlements:
On 22 November 2003, 24-year old Muhammad Suleiman Khalil Sarsur of Deir al-Balah settlement was killed by Israeli security forces while attempting to infiltrate the Netzarim
Netzarim
Netzarim may refer to:* Netzarim, twigs that shoot off from a branch of a tree * Netzarim , the name of an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip...
settlement.
On 6 October 2004, 17-year old 'Ali Khaled 'Ali al-Jaru and 21-year old Iyad Fa'iz Yusef Abu al-'Ata, both of Deir al-Balah settlement, were killed by Israeli security forces while attempting to attack the Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
settlement.