| Nur Shams | |
| Translit Lang1: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Type: | Arabic |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | مخيّم نور شمس |
| Type: | Refugee Camp |
| Pushpin Map: | Palestine |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Nur Shams within Palestine |
| Coordinates: | 32.3186°N 35.0589°W |
| Grid Name: | Palestine grid |
| Subdivision Type: | State |
| Subdivision Name: | State of Palestine |
| Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tulkarm |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Unit Pref: | dunam |
| Area Total Dunam: | 226 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 6,423 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
Nur Shams (Arabic: مخيّم نور شمس) is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Tulkarm Governorate in the northwestern West Bank, located three kilometers east of Tulkarm. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Nur Shams had a population of 6,479 inhabitants in 2007 and 6,423 by 2017.[2] 95.1% of the population of Nur Shams were refugees in 1997.[3] The UNRWA-run healthcare facility for Nur Shams camp was re-built in 1996 with contributions from the Government of Germany.[4]
Historian Benny Morris describes it as having been "a lonely and exclusively Arab area" in early 1936.[5]
During the Mandate period, a British detention camp was situated at Nur Shams.[6]
Nur Shams camp was established in 1952 on 226 dunums. The camp was transferred to Palestinian Authority control in November 1998, after the signing of the Wye River Memorandum and the first phase of further Israeli redeployment.
The two schools in the camp are in poor condition and are listed on UNRWA's priority list for replacement pending securing of funds to carry out the project. A four story Boys' school was constructed in 2004 and has 1035 pupils, the girls' school was constructed in 2001 and has 975 pupils.[7]
In 2023, the IDF entered the camp.