Tulkarm Camp () is a Palestinian refugee camp north of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in the city of Tulkarm, established in 1950 on 0.18 km² by the UNRWA. It is the second largest refugee camp in the

, as well as one of the most densely populated. The camp was severely affected during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

by incursions, arrests, raids and curfews. Incursions still take place, though on a more irregular basis. In 2013, the health centre was reconstructed with project funds amounting to US$1.7 million. Tulkarm camp has four UNRWA schools. The camp is currently under full Israeli military control as part of Israel's "Operation Iron Wall".

History

In 1950, the Tulkarm Camp was established by UNRWA in the city, comprising an area of . Most of the refugees who resided in the camp came from

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, Caesarea and

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. Today it is the second largest Palestinian refugee camp in the

. During the early months of

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

on 26 April 1989 Izam Omar Hasan, aged 8, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers. On the same day Samar Muhammad Manid, aged 9, was shot in the eye with a plastic bullet. He died 5 days later. In March 1990, responding to questions from a member of

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

, Minister of Defence Yitzak Rabin stated the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

was active in Tulkarm at the time of the deaths and that in the case of the 9-year-old the Military Police Investigation was continuing; in the case of the 8-year-old an officer was reprimanded for firing five plastic bullets breaking operational orders, but it could not be established if he killed the boy because no autopsy was carried out. On 31 May Muhammad Hamadan, aged 8 months, was shot dead by soldiers while being carried by his mother in Tulkarm refugee camp. In 2023, the IDF launched a raid on the camp as part of the spillover of the Gaza war. On 3 October 2024 the Israeli military carried out an airstrike on the camp, killing 20 people.

References

{{Palestinian refugee camps Populated places established in 1950 1950 establishments in the West Bank Governorate Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank Tulkarm Governorate Tulkarm in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict