Aida Refugee Camp (Beit Jala)

Palestine / Bayt Lahhm / Bayt Jala / Beit Jala
 residential neighbourhood, refugee camp
One of three Palestinian refugee camps in Bethlehem administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The 5,500 residents (2014 population) are people who were displaced in the fighting of 1948, and their descendants, all of whom possess specific legal rights under international humanitarian law. When the 1948 fighting was over, despite Israel's promises to the UN, the original refugees were denied the right to return to their homes and villages, most of which had already been quickly destroyed by the Zionist/Israeli forces.

Aida was visited in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, who delivered an address of solidarity, with the Israeli Separation Barrier abuting the camp as backdrop. See:
www.wrmea.org/2009-july/pope-benedict-xvis-address-at-t...
Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aida_Camp
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   31°43'9"N   35°11'55"E
This article was last modified 8 years ago