Ain al-Hilweh

Ain al-Hilweh عين الحلوة
Refugee camp
Ain al-Hilweh
Coordinates: 33°32′37″N 35°22′41″E / 33.54361°N 35.37806°E / 33.54361; 35.37806
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	South Governorate
District	Sidon District
Area
• Total	0.3 km2 (0.1 sq mi)
Population  (2003)	estimated 120,000
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)

Ain al-Hilweh (Arabic: عين الحلوة, lit. meaning "sweet natural spring"), also spelled as Ayn al-Hilweh and Ein al-Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but swelled to nearly 120,000,^[1] as a result of influx of refugees from Syria since 2011. The camp is located west of the village Miye ou Miye and the Mieh Mieh refugee camp, southeast of the port city of Sidon and north of Darb Es Sim.

Ain al-Hilweh was established near the city of Sidon in 1948 by the International Committee of the Red Cross to accommodate refugees from Amqa, Saffuriya, Sha'ab, Taitaba, Manshieh, al-Simireh, al-Nahr, Safsaf, Hittin, al-Ras al-Ahmar, al-Tira and Tarshiha in northern Palestine.^[2] Ain Al-Hilweh is located on land owned by landowners from Miye ou Miye, Darb Es Sim and Sidon. Because Lebanese Armed Forces are not allowed to enter the camp, Ain al-Hilweh has been called a "zone of unlaw" by the Lebanese media.^[3] Many people wanted by the Lebanese government are believed to have taken refuge in the camp as a result of the lack of Lebanese authority.^[4]