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Environmental concerns in Palestinian Refugee Camps
Palestine established its refugee camps after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War for Palestinian refugees after their homes became a part of the State of Israel. The United Nations Conciliation Commission estimated that the number of Palestinian refugees displaced after 1948 was around 726,000 people. In 2010, another study was conducted to estimate the current number of Palestinian refugees within camps are 197,763. Other sources estimate the number could be as high as 800,000 Palestinian Refugees. 27 refugee camps are located within Palestinian territory; refugees compromise 26.5% of the population in West Bank and 65% in the Gaza Strip.

Waste
Before the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, most solid waste was collected by handcarts, donkey carts, or dump trucks provided by foreign aid programs. After, local authority and municipalities are responsible for the collections, transportation, operation and management of facilities. The primary collection for waste within the refugee camps is door-to-door collection and communal containers. Some operations problems persist despite the establishment of the Solid Waste Management Council. The poorly paved roads deteriorate the equipment rapidly, increasing capacity problems are overusing and destroying the receptacle containers and bins, and the lack of funding is impacting the waste management in the refugee camps.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East usually provides sewage services to the refugee camps. During a U.N. strike in the winter of 2014, garbage went uncollected in the refugee camps, causing rats and disease to settle within the camps.

Health Issues
According to the study conducted by the World Health Organization in December 2010, 10% of children under 5 years-old in Gaza refugee camps suffer from stunting and malnutrition. There is a massive shortage of medical drugs and consumables in both the West Bank and Gaza. Only 10% of medical permits requested from refugees in Gaza or the West Bank are approved by the Israeli government.

Housing
Palestinian refugee camps were originally built on municipal lands and were built with the intention of being only temporary. But due to the ongoing conflicts, they became permanent locations. Refugee households suffer from overcrowding and population density, averaging about 3+ persons per room. Housing conditions in many of the camps do not meet the international standard of living.

A series of improvements are being made to the refugee camps. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in 2007 established a Camp Improvement Program (CIP) that put refugees in charge of improving their own lives and conditions. The program is in effect today and still being developed and the results are on display at an exhibition called "Space Time Dignity Rights: Improving Palestinian Refugee Camps".

Water
The use and pollution of water sources in Palestine has been a consistent problem. Downstream from the Jordan river, Palestinian towns receive Israeli waste and contamination. The pollution can seep into the ground water, harming the drinking water of not just the West Bank, but Israel as well. . Although efforts for establishing water treatment plants have been made, the separation barrier prevents the Environmental Quality Authority of Palestine staff from traveling freely to investigate the sources of pollution and reporting the problems. Existing dumping sites outside of the Barrier have become not accessible to the Palestinians inside the Wall, therefore causing the dumping sites within the wall to increase drastically.

New efforts have emerged in 2010 to treat the waste-water in the West Bank. A Palestinian village El-Uja in the West bank will receive a water-treatment plant sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission, the Regional Cooperation Minister of Israel, the Peres Center for Peace, and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. Two sanitary landfills are in use in the West Bank, in the Jenin Governorate and in Jericho, and three sanitary landfills in the Gaza Strip. Water conservation has also been highly discussed. Public city water pipes are leaking and not being cared for, therefore wasting more water. Palestinians have also not developed more water wells in the West Bank, as agreed upon in the Oslo Accords, but rather drill wells from the Western Mountain Aquifer that provides groundwater for the State of Israel.

Land and Agriculture
The strategic placement of the barrier by the Israeli government has seized extra land for Israeli settlement use. The barrier has created a geographical discontinuity within the West Bank due to limiting travel between the Areas A, B, and C, and limiting the Palestinians the possibility of land use planning or environmental projects. The small amount of land the Palestinians can use for agricultural purposes has led to Overgrazing, and therefore the loss of vegetation cover, soil erosion, and desertification. The barrier has also impacted the villages sewage management. The communities must now dump or burn their garbage close to their village, therefore causing pollution to the trees and crops.

Ecosystems
The Separation Barrier has caused major challenges to the conservation of ecosystems and habitat links between the areas in the West Bank. The Wall and segregation zones impede on the movement of terrestrial animals and causes deterioration of the vegetation cover by isolating areas of forest and nature reserves.

Air Pollution
The main source of air pollution in the West Bank is from vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. The vehicle emissions have increased since the development of the Separation Barrier and the segregation zones due to the closing of main roads, forcing the Palestinians to take longer alternative routes.