Jerash Refugee Camp (Gaza Camp)

Jerash Camp is one of the six “emergency” camps that were established in 1968 in Jordan to shelter Palestine refugees who fled from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after the 1967 war. Located in Jerash Governorate, about five kilometers from the famous Roman ruins in Jerash, the camp is locally known as the Gaza Camp because nearly 90 percent of its residents are from the Gaza Strip. Unlike the other Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Gaza refugees do not hold Jordanian citizenship and face multifaceted legal restrictions. As a direct result, Jerash Camp is considered the poorest among Jordan’s ten official Palestine refugee camps.

Establishment of the Camp

Jerash Camp was established on 3 March 1968 by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on an agricultural plot of land 0.75 square kilometers that was rented from the landowners. The majority of the 11,500 Palestine refugees who arrived in Jerash had spent several months in different refugee camps in the West Bank before arriving in Jerash Camp; many of them had already been forcibly displaced in 1948. The bulk of the camp's residents originated from Beersheba (45 percent) and Gaza (39 percent), and a smaller number came from Ramallah (8 percent), Jaffa (4.5 percent), and Tulkarm (1.5 percent), among others. This may explain the tribal structure of the community, which has created a strong bond among refugees, shaped their conflict resolution mechanisms, and kept the knowledge of the history of spaces and contexts alive.

When the camp was established, UNRWA quickly divided the empty agricultural plots according to an orthogonal grid structure that resulted in an equal distribution of plots in the middle of the camp, which later became the camp's heart; this subdivision facilitated the management of the camp by the main actors, UNRWA and later on Jordan. For topographical reasons, the subdivision plan covered only flat areas, leaving the other parts of the camp to grow organically. Each displaced family received from UNRWA a plot of land measuring 96 square meters (12mx8m) in addition to one or more tents, the size and number of which depended on the size of the family (one tent per six persons). In addition to tents, UNRWA provided humanitarian services such as daily hot meals, food distribution, healthcare, and education. These facilities were concentrated in tents and later in compounds, and they were strategically located on the highest area of the camp, overlooking the entire setting and strongly defining its western border.

Development of the Camp’s Infrastructure

As their "temporary" stay in the camp lengthened, the camp residents enclosed their plots with fences to maintain a sense of privacy, which slowly began to define the camp's new network of pathways and streets and, by default, its fabric. When UNRWA later replaced the initial tents with asbestos units to withstand the harsh winters, the camp acquired a more definitive morphology.

The camp has developed distinctively in stages. There is no record of an emergency or master plan for the initial stage. In the first stage (the initiation period of the camp), tents were almost randomly distributed at the western-northern side of the camp parallel to UNRWA's main institutions, which formed "the old camp" or the camp's center. While larger families clustered in the northern and southern parts of the camp, smaller families with less tribal bonds chose to set their tents in the less occupied, western and southern parts of it. Although tents were distributed randomly, people preserved their social ties by ensuring that families of the same tribe or village lived close to one another.

Over time, and with the tents slowly replaced with asbestos units, the camp started to grow toward the more level part of the camp in the south along the main street, forming a newly built pattern less regular than the standard 12 x 8 meter plots. The population kept growing naturally, and so did the spatial body of the camp; a combination of spatial (specifically topographical), socioeconomic, and political factors shaped the growth and overspill of the camp.

Between 1968 and 1971, UNRWA built 2,000 prefabricated shelters on the southwest edge of each plot. Asbestos units (18 square meters) replaced each tent and were placed in the corner of each 96 square meter plot. These units did not include any cooking or sanitary spaces, and refugees had to use designated public latrines and washrooms in each zone or sector; each household cooked within the open space of their plot. During this period, the camp was least saturated and encompassed distinctive public spaces (these are visible in historical aerial photos.) However, families soon outgrew the single asbestos rooms. The size of each plot allowed families to build new zinc-roofed rooms at the front façade of the plot, with direct access to the street. These rooms were used as a madafa, to host guests during the day; such arrangement manifests the tribal nature of camp's community that considers hosting guests at the core of their daily life. The madafa is most commonly the largest and the best furnished (mainly with mattresses) part of the shelter, and at night it is used as a bedroom. 

Because Jordan had a strict one-floor policy at the time, expansion to accommodate the family’s natural growth remained horizontal. As rooms were added horizontally, the central courtyard became a bi-product, sandwiched between the old and the new parts of the shelter. As a result, the courtyard evolved into a socializing space (especially for women), an internal circulation, and a hub for domestic activities and housework such as cooking and laundry drying. Small portions of the court are often planted or filled with flora pots or fully tiled to enable space usage. These courtyards form almost one-third of the total area of the shelters. In most cases, restrooms (showers and latrines) and kitchens are on one side of the courtyard, where household members have to cross the courtyard to reach them.

As the camp's population increased, the open spaces decreased, resulting in deteriorating living conditions in terms of privacy, space, and light. The camp's organic growth was also determined by the topography of the area: the camp is bordered by relatively steep valleys to the west that required certain structural capabilities and authorization to expand, which was not available until the 1990s. However, the southern and eastern edges were topographically more suitable to expand, resulting in a fast-growing and concentrated overspill of the camp along those sides. Because camp residents are Gazans (and thus considered foreigners under Jordanian regulations), they remained within the official boundaries of the camp, where they have the right to use but not own the land. As a result, the camp population grew within the camp's boundaries. Those who managed to move outside the camp (e.g., by renting or residing in a dwelling owned by a Jordanian spouse or relative) resided in adjacent areas close to their relatives and social network, promoting the camp as an important social hub and center of gravity.

Currently, the residential blocks in Jerash camp (48 x 24 square meters) consist of almost 24 shelters in two facing rows of 12 each, separated by a 0.6 - 0.8 meter alley that acts as a setback to provide shelters with natural light and ventilation. Many of these narrow alleys have turned into semi-private pathways gated by the residents for privacy. Such behavior adds to public space encroachment but provides the residents with a sense of open space.

Jerash Camp is among the few camps in Jordan where families and tribes still cluster together, and many neighborhoods have not changed since they were first established.

Socioeconomic Conditions

Jerash Camp is Jordan's fifth most populous camp. According to UNRWA, the camp population was 31,000 in 2023; most are from Gaza. Contrary to the other Palestine refugees in Jordan who have both refugee status as well as Jordanian citizenship with full access to the national services and opportunities as they fled from the parts (mainly West Bank) which was annexed at that time to the kingdom, Gazans hold a temporary, 2-year Jordanian passport but do not have a national ID number; without it, they have limited access to the economic labor market and are excluded from various national subsidies such as the Jordanian National Aid Fund that provides support to the unprivileged families and university scholarships. The royal donations provide them with an alternative, but they do not cover all camp residents.

 For these refugees, UNRWA is a primary service provider to the camp's community. As an immediate and direct result, the residents of Jerash Camp are the most economically challenged refugees in Jordan.

Poverty remains a core issue for Jerash camp residents. A substantially higher proportion of camp households fall within the lowest income quintile compared to other Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. According to a FAFO study conducted in 2011, Jerash camp residents scored third highest registry in the Social Safety Net program (15 percent) on the assets index, indicating the severe poverty level amongst camp residents, and they have the lowest proportion of residents with a permanent job and the highest proportion with seasonal, irregular, and daily jobs. Despite the improvement in educational enrollment among the refugees, the impact of economic standing remains the dominant reason behind student dropouts, especially males. More than 70 percent of those who drop out of school are working or looking for work to support their families.

Despite the multidimensional constraints facing Jerash Camp and its residents, the camp has managed to create an economic outpost, with one third of its built-up area used for commercial purposes. The Jerash market is also a well-known destination for Jordanians from surrounding areas such as Al-Haddadah and Al-Kitteh villages, with competitive yet affordable prices.

Education:

In 1968, UNRWA's education system began with a small tent school. Three years later, UNRWA established asbestos school structures for male and female students. These structures were replaced with concrete buildings in the 1980s. As of 2023, UNRWA operated five schools, four running double shifts, providing education from grades 1 to 10 for more than 5,900 students in the camp. After completing the tenth grade, students can enroll in one of the two governmental high schools in the camp, one for males and one for females.

Health:

UNRWA provided healthcare services in the camp in 1968 in a simple tent, which first changed into an asbestos unit in 1971; in 1985 or so, the current concrete slabbed building was built to provide basic health services. This was the only medical center in the camp for a long time. Currently, UNRWA provides primary health and dental care and family planning counseling for Jerash refugees through a health center inside the camp. Because the camp residents are regarded as foreigners, almost 88 percent of the camp's population are not entitled to governmental health services.

Management, Civil Society, and Political Institutions

UNRWA's role is mainly related to providing health and education services to Palestine refugees and is responsible for waste collection and other environmental health responsibilities within the camp’s official boundaries. However, the overall management of the camp is assigned to the Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA), part of the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates; it has field offices in each Palestinian refugee camp. UNRWA and DPA jointly coordinate the overall services provided in Jerash camp.

At the civil society level, community figures and religious leaders play a role in local community social events such as weddings and funerals and resolving minor conflicts in the camp.

Historically, UNRWA played a vital role in community mobilization and empowerment, manifested through the establishment of the camp's two major community-based organizations: the Women's Programme Center and the Community-Based Rehabilitation Centre. The camp's sport and youth club was originally established and supervised by UNRWA until the agency transferred responsibility to the DPA. Almost all social-based initiatives and bodies are hosted or facilitated by the state.

As Jerash Camp is the sole Palestine refugee camp in Jordan whose population is predominantly composed of ex-Gazans, this demographic specificity has shaped the camp's social environment, creating a particular set of vulnerabilities. In addition to economic and employment difficulties.

Aside from these difficulties, the community in Jerash camp endures high psychosocial pressures. Many residents in Jerash camp have relatives back in Gaza, and they have endured inconceivable emotional and psychological suffering since Israel started its genocidal war (United Nations, 2025) against Gaza in October 2023. The relentless shelling, displacement, and fatalities have left permanent scars within the camp as most families have lost loved ones, homes, and even parts of their relatives. These cumulative experiences of displacement, historical and contemporary, have deepened feelings of marginalization and collective grieving, and have amplified a sense of solidarity, resilience, and shared struggle.

Jerash Camp is now not just a physical space of refuge but also a potent reminder of the Palestine refugees’ longstanding displacement since the Nakba.