El-Buss refugee camp

El-Buss (Arabic: مخيم البص‎) is a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It is located north of Tyre.

El-Buss refugee camp

مخيم البص
El-Buss refugee camp
Coordinates: 33°16′21″N 35°12′36″E
Country Lebanon
GovernorateSouth
DistrictTyre
Population
11,254

Territory

A 2017 census counted 687 buildings with 1,356 households in el-Buss.[1]

History

El-Buss was originally a camp for Armenian refugees, set up in 1935–36 by the French authorities in Mandatory Lebanon.[2][3] Later, when Palestinian refugees began arriving in independent Lebanon, El-Buss was one of the first sites which was assigned as a Palestinian transit camp.[2][3] The majority of the first wave of Palestinians who settled in El-Buss were Palestinian Christians from Haifa and Akka.[2]

Soon the camp was overcrowded and more camps were set up in other parts of the country. Initially, Armenians and Palestinians cohabited in the camp. The Armenian inhabitants later left.[3]

Gradually, large parts of the Christian population moved out of the camp.[3] The camp had 3,911 inhabitants in 1968. By 1977, the UNRWA census put the population at 4,643.[2] By 1999, UNRWA estimated the population to be 9,498.[3] Compared with other refugee camps in Lebanon, the El-Buss refugee camp has been characterized by a higher degree of integration between Lebanese and Palestinians. A public hospital set up inside the camp area is still used by Lebanese citizens. Palestinian Christians in the camp attend the same church as Lebanese Christians.[3]

Arab–Israeli conflict

The camp suffered extensive damage in Israeli air and navy attacks in March-April 1978.[2] A contemporary United Nations report said that only half of the houses in the camp were not either badly damaged or destroyed during the 1982 Israeli invasion.[4][5] The Advisory Committee on Human Rights of the American Friends Service Committee termed the destruction of homes in El-Buss "systematic".[6]

In September 2010, three people were reportedly wounded after a dispute between clerics loyal to either Fatah or Hamas resulted in armed clashes.[7]


See also

References
  1. Kumar, Jayant Banthia (8 October 2019). "The Population and Housing Census in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings - 2017, Detailed Analytical Report" (PDF). Beirut: Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Central Administration of statistics, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p. 231-233. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. P. Edward Haley; Lewis W. Snider (1 January 1979). Lebanon in Crisis: Participants and Issues. Syracuse University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-8156-2210-9.
  3. Rebecca Roberts (30 September 2010). Palestinians in Lebanon: Refugees Living with Long-term Displacement. I.B.Tauris. pp. 76, 203. ISBN 978-0-85772-054-2.
  4. Clive Jones; Sergio Catignani (4 December 2009). Israel and Hizbollah: An Asymmetric Conflict in Historical and Comparative Perspective. Routledge. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-135-22920-7.
  5. Michael E. Jansen (1 May 1983). The battle of Beirut: why Israel invaded Lebanon. South End Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-89608-174-1.
  6. Cheryl A. Rubenberg (1 January 1989). Israel and the American National Interest: A Critical Examination. University of Illinois Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-252-06074-8.
  7. Hanafi, Sari. "ENCLAVES AND FORTRESSED ARCHIPELAGO VIOLENCE AND GOVERNANCE IN LEBANON'S PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS". Retrieved 5 April 2020.
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