Popular Services Committees in West Bank Refugee Camps: Political Legacies, Formations, and Tensions

Formed in the mid-1990s, the Popular Services Committees (PSC) in West Bank refugee camps have played a dual role: on the one hand, they are a liaison body between the camps and UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and on the other, they perceive themselves as a political body and guardian of the right of return. In this article, Ala Alazzeh ethnographically historicizes the formation and position of the PSCs within the Palestinian political field. The author shows the role of the camp Youth Centers in the formation of PSCs, the post-Oslo tension between camp residents and the PA, and the camp residents’ capitalization on the PLO’s legacy and authority. He also points out the tension between self-representation of PSCs as a political body versus their de facto practice as municipallike mediators between refugee camp communities and UNRWA, and the PA.