ʿEin es-Sulṭān camp (Arabic: عين سلطان, romanized: ʿAin Sulṭān, lit. 'Sultan's spring'), or ʿEin Sultan camp, is a refugee camp in the Jericho Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the Jordan Valley, in the eastern West Bank. The village is located adjacent to the Ein es-Sultan or Elisha Spring, for which it is named, and the archaeological site of Tell es-Sultan, 1 kilometer north-west of the city of Jericho.

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Quick Facts Arabic transcription(s), • Arabic ...

ʿEin/ʿAin es-Sulṭān
Place
Arabic transcription(s)
• Arabic	مخيّم عين سلطان
• Latin	Ayn al-Sulṭān (official)
ʿEin/ʿAin es-Sulṭān Location of ʿEin es Sultan/ʿAin as-Sulṭān within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°52′40.24″N 35°26′46.24″E
State	State of Palestine
Governorate	Jericho
Founded	1948
Area
• Total	870 dunams (0.87 km2 or 0.34 sq mi)
Population  (2017)[1]
• Total	4,384
• Density	5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
	(including non-refugees)
Name meaning	Sultan's Spring

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ʿEin es-Sulṭān had a population of over 4,384 inhabitants in 2017.^[1] In 1997, refugees constituted 81% of the population.^[2]

ʿEin es-Sulṭān or ʿAin as-Sulṭān camp was established in 1948, on 870 dunums of arid land below the Mount of Temptation. Just before the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the camp had accommodated some 20,000 refugees. During the hostilities the majority of the refugees fled across the Jordan River to Jordan.^[3] On 13 November 1985, following an agreement with UNRWA, the Israeli authorities began a program of demolishing unused houses. At the time the camp’s population was 600.^[4] In 1987 the authorities tried to expel as many of the refugees as they could. The US reports state that the refugees were suffering from "deteriorating economic circumstances".^[5]

Today, ʿEin Sulṭān has a small population of only 1,732 registered refugees. Some non-refugees have moved onto the camp's lands and built illegal homes as there is over-crowding and Israel authorities controls the issuing of building permits.^[6][7]

Water scarcity is a major problem in this arid area, especially during the summer. The springs Ayn as-Sultan, Ayn an-Nuway'mia and Ayn ad-Duyuk were utilised during Roman rule for irrigation to cultivate the land.^[8] After 1975 the water from the spring Ain as-Sultan was collected in four small basins.^[5] UNRWA supplies Ein Sultan with water by pumping it from a nearby spring. The out fall of the spring is close to Tell el-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho.^[9] During the summer months, water shortages in the camp cause tremendous hardship for the refugees.^[10] However, the Israeli water company Mekorot has become the main supplier of water to the camp after Israel took control of water sources.^[6]

Following the signing of the 1994 Gaza–Jericho Agreement and Israeli army redeployment, the camp came under the control of the Palestinian National Authority.^[6]

In 2002, two stories were added to Ein Sultan School, including a new library, a multi-purpose room, an additional three classrooms and a computer lab.

• Nasr Abdel Aziz Eleyan