Quick Facts About Al-Nasr Camp

The Nakba and the Naksa: Why the Camp Exists

The story of al-Nasr Camp begins with the Nakba (Arabic for "catastrophe"): the mass expulsion of Palestinians during the occupation of Palestine in 1948, when roughly 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes. Many families from Ramla, Lydda, Jaffa and their villages took refuge in the West Bank.

Nineteen years later, with the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, known as the Naksa ("setback"), hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crossed the Jordan River. For many of them, this was a second displacement. Some were settled in an emergency camp on the hills of eastern Amman, which became al-Nasr Camp. In a survey of household heads in the camp, about 70% said their families had left Palestine in 1948 because of massacres in or near their towns, and about 60% said they had been forcibly expelled.

The Right of Return

The right of return is the central demand of al-Nasr's refugees. It rests on several foundations in international law:

• UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (11 December 1948), paragraph 11, resolved that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid to those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 13) affirms everyone's right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to it.
• UN Security Council Resolution 237 (1967) called for the return of those who had fled since the outbreak of hostilities in 1967.
• UN General Assembly Resolution 3236 (1974) reaffirmed the "inalienable right" of Palestinians to return to their homes and property.

In the same survey, 83 of 87 household heads said they would return if the right were implemented, about 94% rejected compensation in exchange for giving up return, and about 79% rejected return to any place other than their original towns.

History of the Camp

An emergency camp (1967)

After the 1967 war, displaced families were sheltered in an emergency camp known at first as the Hunaykin camp, where UNRWA built simple concrete rooms. In its early years the camp had no sewage network or electricity: residents lit their homes with kerosene lamps and cooked on kerosene stoves and firewood.

From rooms to a neighbourhood

Over the decades, families expanded their rooms into homes and the camp was gradually connected to water, electricity and sewage networks. Today it resembles one of the crowded popular neighbourhoods of eastern Amman, surrounded by the city's urban growth.

Official Status

Jordan's Department of Palestinian Affairs counts Prince Hassan Camp among the Palestinian camps in Jordan, and a government-appointed Camp Services Committee manages local affairs. However, it is not one of UNRWA's ten official camps in Jordan. UNRWA provides education through its schools in the camp, while Greater Amman Municipality handles waste collection.

The Current Situation (2024–2026)

The camp's main problems today are overcrowding, an ageing sewage network, frequent water and electricity cuts and high unemployment. When a parliamentary Palestine Committee visited the camp, the services committee presented two main demands: rehabilitating the sewage network and creating jobs for residents through development projects.

UNRWA's deepening financial crisis weighs heavily on the camp. In the 2025–2026 school year, the agency cut working and teaching hours by about 20% across its fields of operation, including Jordan, and residents fear further cuts to the education and relief services many families depend on. Like Palestinians across Jordan, the camp's people follow the genocide in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank closely, and its youth are active in campaigns for the right of return, including on social media.

Origin of the Name

The camp has three names. Al-Nasr Camp and Jabal al-Nasr Camp come from Jabal al-Nasr ("Mount Victory"), the hill in eastern Amman on which it stands. Its official name is Prince Hassan Camp, and it is also known as the Prince Hassan neighbourhood. In its first months it was called the Hunaykin camp.

Location and Geography

The camp lies on Jabal al-Nasr in eastern Amman, about 5 km from the city centre, in the Capital (Amman) Governorate. The Capital Governorate is also home to al-Wehdat, Jabal al-Hussein and Talbieh camps, and Amman's other camps lie nearby.

Area

According to the Department of Palestinian Affairs, the camp covers about 96 dunums (96.156 dunums, or about 0.1 km²). With no room to expand, families have built upward, and population density is high.

Origins of the Residents

A survey of 87 household heads in the camp gives a picture of its origins. About 74% of families moved to the camp directly after 1967 and have never lived anywhere else. The most frequently cited places of origin were:

• Cities: Ramla, Jaffa and Lydda
• Ramla district: Sarafand al-Kharab, Bayt Nabala and Al-Barriyya
• Jaffa district: Al-Abbasiyya
• Gaza district: Al-Masmiyya
• West Bank (1967): families from Hebron and other West Bank towns

The camp's community institutions reflect these roots, such as the Diwan of the People of Sarafand.

Population and Demographics

Note: Registered refugees are not the same as residents. The camp also houses non-refugee families attracted by low rents and cheap markets, while some families registered with the camp live elsewhere in Amman.

Housing and Infrastructure

The camp has about 700 housing units, averaging about 95 m² each. Most homes are connected to water, electricity and sewage networks, but cuts are frequent and the sewage network needs rehabilitation. Some internal roads remain unpaved, making movement difficult in winter. Greater Amman Municipality handles cleaning with a small number of workers, and residents complain of insufficient waste collection.

Economic Situation

Unemployment in the camp is high, and many families depend on support from charities. Most residents hold Jordanian citizenship and work in Amman in trade, crafts, construction and services. Low rents, proximity to relatives and jobs, and cheap popular markets keep families in the camp despite poor conditions.

Health Situation

According to the Department of Palestinian Affairs, there is no UNRWA-run clinic in the camp, and only private clinics operate there; residents use UNRWA health centres in nearby camps and government hospitals in Amman. The camp's Zakat Committee has planned to establish a charity clinic. Overcrowding and poor water and sewage conditions weigh on residents' health.

Education

UNRWA runs two schools in the camp, one for boys and one for girls, both working on double shifts and described as overcrowded. Secondary students attend Jordanian government schools. A Quran centre on Jabal al-Nasr serves about 100 students.

Social Life and Institutions

• Camp Services (Improvement) Committee: coordinates cleaning, lighting and road maintenance with Amman Municipality, and runs computer courses, a public library, internet access and women's training.
• Prince Hassan Camp Youth Club: supervised by the Ministry of Youth, with football and Greco-Roman wrestling teams, scouting camps and trips.
• Zakat and Charity Committee (1985): supports about 180 needy families.
• Abu Dhar al-Ghifari Committee: part of the Islamic Charitable Centre Society, supporting about 800 families in the al-Nasr area, including 120 in the camp, with food, winter aid and university sponsorships.
• Diwan of the People of Sarafand: a family association keeping the memory of the village alive.

Frequently Asked Questions About Al-Nasr Camp

Conclusion

Al-Nasr Camp was born from two displacements: the Nakba that drove families from Ramla, Lydda and Jaffa, and the Naksa that pushed them across the Jordan River. From concrete rooms without electricity, it grew into a crowded neighbourhood of eastern Amman. Its people, the great majority of whom reject any alternative to returning to their own towns, keep that right alive on the hill called "Victory".