CHALLENGING HAUSSMANNIZATION IN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS: JENIN REFUGEE CAMP AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Spatial control and systematic demolition are tools used to reshape space and redistribute it to people in ways that benefit power. Demolition follows a logical plan and is not just a short-term military move. This approach is clear in nineteenth-century Paris, when Baron Haussmann changed the city to improve military access and observation. This is where the term "Haussmannization" comes from. This study looks at the regular demolitions that the Jenin refugee camp faced from 2002 to 2026 due to several Israeli military operations, including Operation "Iron Wall. “It raises an important question: Is this demolition just a random security measure, or does it reflect a modern form of “Haussmannization”? It critically analyzes the mechanisms of control within the camp. It compares them to the structure of Haussmann’s project, within a theoretical framework based on the works of Lefebvre, Foucault, Weizman, and Graham, and drawing on morphological analysis of satellite imagery and reports from UNOSAT, OCHA, and UNRWA across three time periods, to reveal the structure of the impossible return to a reshaped camp, which the study describes as the “Aporia of Return.” The study concludes that what has taken place in the camp reproduces the Haussmannian mechanism stripped of its constraints, thereby redrawing the urban geography, dismantling the social fabric, and confiscating the right to the city. The original contribution of this research lies in arguing that return and reconstruction under this plan complement, rather than negate, the process of Haussmannization. Accordingly, it establishes a critical framework for evaluating the validity of reconstruction plans rather than proposing an alternative design solution.