Jalazon refugee camp, Palestinian Territories---Nael al-Sharif is working on an extension to his property in the Jalazon refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But he is not building outwards -- instead he's expanding upwards.
In many of the Palestinian camps, which have evolved down the decades into densely populated areas teeming with narrow alleyways, families that cannot afford to buy new land simply add floors to existing property.
Sharif, 43, says his two-storey home is too small for his entire family of around 30 people, so he is looking to add another two floors.
"We're suffering from an enormous housing problem," he tells AFP.
"We're practically sleeping on top of each other -- my six sons share one single room, and me, my wife and two other children sleep in another.
"So we decided to build two more floors. I can't afford any more land outside the camp."
With growing concerns about safety in the ever-expanding camps, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has banned construction beyond two floors on foundations not designed to support tall buildings.
An UNRWA spokesman confirmed the prohibition, saying the agency does not provide aid to home owners who break the rule.
"Over the years, these camps have transformed from temporary 'tent cities' into hyper-congested masses of multi-storey buildings with narrow alleys, characterised by high concentrations of poverty and extreme overcrowding," the agency says on its website.
"The camps are considered to be among the densest urban environments in the world, but because camp structures were built for temporary use, over the decades the buildings have become overcrowded, critically substandard and in many cases life-threatening," UNRWA says.
But the ban has had little effect, with residents saying they have no choice but to look to the sky.
AFP
