Jordan hosts around 40% of registered Palestinian refugees

AMMAN — Jordan hosts around 40 per cent of Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, a report showed.

According to the statistical report for the first quarter of 2015, compiled by UNRWA and discussed by the Cabinet on Sunday, the number of Palestinian refugees residing in Jordan currently stands at more than 2.2 million, out of 5.6 million Palestinian refugees served by the UN relief agency in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Syria and Lebanon in addition to Jordan. The agency has been serving refugees since its establishment in 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the resulting exodus of masses of people into neighbouring countries.  

UNRWA defines this category of refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period June 1, 1946 to May 15, 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict”. The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration.

UNRWA’s report, as cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, indicates that out of the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, only 387,000 live in camps. There are 13 Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, three of which are not recognised, namely Madaba, Prince Hassan and Sukhneh.