The entire district contains 14 Israeli settlements, with a population of more than 10,000 and two of the largest Palestinian refugees camps in the West Bank, Askar and Balata, which totalise more than 35,000 inhabitants, about 8% of the total district population.

The urban gatherings around Nablus:

The Refugee Camps:

Balata Camp

Balata is the largest West Bank camp with a registered refugee population of 21,445. The camp was established in 1950 on 252 dunums of land within the municipal boundaries of Nablus.
The first West Bank group to defend refugee rights - the Refugee Committee to Defend Refugee Rights - was established in Balata in early 1994. The camp was very active during the Intifada (1987-1993). Many refugees were killed and injured, and numerous shelters were demolished by the Israeli army.
The camp committee is one of the most active committees in the area with three of its members on the Palestinian Legislative Council. The youth activities centre and the women's program centre organize many activities including cultural events.
Nablus Municipality supplies the camp with electricity and water, but there are serious sewerage network problems, and the roads and alleys are badly in need of repair.

Facts and figures:
· Special hardship cases: 699 families.
· Number of damaged shelters that have been affected due to the IOF incursions in the West Bank since the beginning of the Intifadah till March 2004: 81 in which 74 shelters were assisted.
· Number of families receiving emergency food rations: 2906
· Number of pupils: male 1982, female 2000
· Addition 15 classrooms were added to the girls’ school.
· Upgrading the carpentry unit in the camp.
· 762 refugees benefited from the emergency employment.

Old and New Askar camps

Askar camp was established in 1950 on 209 dunums within the municipal boundaries of Nablus. In 1964, the camp was expanded to cover an additional 90 dunums, and camp residents refer to this new area as "New Askar". "New Askar" is not officially recognized as a camp, there are no UNRWA installations there, and the area falls in "zone B". Old Askar camp falls under Palestinian Authority control in "zone A".
Overcrowding in the camp is a severe problem and the camp committee has suggested expanding the camp's boundaries as a possible solution. However, UNRWA has no authority to carry out any expansion of camps since this comes under the jurisdiction of the host governments/authority.
As part of the Agency's ongoing efforts to improve the educational facilities in refugee camps, a new boys' school has recently been constructed and equipped with contributions from the Saudi Program for the Assistance of the Palestinian People.

Facts and figures:
· Registered Refugee Population: 14,629.
· Special hardship cases: 602 families.
· Number of damaged shelters that have been affected due to the IOF incursions in the West Bank since the beginning of the Intifada till March 2004: 26 shelters in which 24 were assisted by UNRWA.
· Number of families receiving emergency food rations: 2086.
· Number of pupils: male 1798, female 1724.
· A new girls’ school was constructed in 2003.
· A new Health clinic was constructed in 2003 to replace the old clinic which was demolished.

El Ein / Camp No.1

Camp No. 1 was established in 1950 on 45 dunums beside the main Nablus/Jenin road, and within the municipal boundaries of Nablus. Following the Israeli redeployment in 1995, the camp fell under Palestinian Authority control in "zone A". The camp is very cramped, there is serious overcrowding, and the narrow alleys are in desperate need of repair. During funerals, the deceased are usually passed through windows from one shelter to another in order to reach the camp's main street.
A serious outbreak of diarrhea hospitalized several hundred camp residents in the summer of 1998. Contaminated municipal water supplies was the cause of the epidemic and UNRWA's health staff worked day and night to treat the sick and to take patients to clinics and hospitals in other parts of the West Bank.
In 1997, UNRWA constructed two new schools, with contributions from the governments of Saudi Arabia and Sweden, on a plot of land outside the camp's boundaries which was made available by Nablus Municipality.

Facts and figures:
· Registered Refugee Population: 6508
· Special hardship cases: 294 families.
· Number of damaged shelters that have been affected due to the IOF incursions in the West Bank since the beginning of the Intifada till March 2004: 14 houses were affected in which 12 were assisted.
· Number of families receiving emergency food rations: 769.
· Number of pupils: Male 621, Female 647
· UNRWA assisted in renovating 10 houses in the camp.
· A New office for the Public Services Committee was constructed in coordination with UNDP.
· As part of the Job creation program, the western part of the camp was asphalted and part of the drainage system was renovated.

Climate:

Situated in the Mediterranean, Palestine has a temperate sea climate. April and May bring some of the most beautiful wildflowers. The rainy season in Palestine is between November and April. Because of the wonderfully low humidity, the air in Palestine is dry. Nablus, situated in at 850m above the see level has mountainous climate.

The climate indicators in Nablus:

Picturesque Natural Spots:
 

The relief of Nablus area gives it a wild range of natural ecosystems, from dry and rocky hilltops to luxurious warm valleys and fresh green north-side slopes. The flora is indeed also very varied and we can found here the same wild flowers growing in western Europe prairie next to palm trees and all Mediterranean succulent fruits (olives, oranges, lemon, fig, prickly pear, …) and some endemic plants like the famous Zatar.

To illustrate these different natural environments we choose three places of great beauty, Badhan Valley, Irak Burin, and Assira road.

Badhan Valley

Located at the north-east east of Nablus after Askar village the road goes down about 200 meters along a picturesque ravine. Down bellow flows a spring that feed a wild range of citrus trees all along the fertile valley called by the Nablusi “Jordan valley” because it actually ends in the real Jordan Valley. It is very green all the year and warmer than Nablus. You can also go and pick yourself many vegetables likes tomatoes and peppers. The many pools are used from spring to autumns and it’s a very nice place to have a barbecue.

Irak Burin

Irak Burin is a village on the top of a mountain peak, with a beautiful panorama on the surrounding villages and settlements, at 2 km south of Nablus at 814m . It is a dry place with a lot of prickly pears and wind blowing between thousand years old houses. The way to the village is also a beauty as it gives the opportunity to admire the peak itself among the olives fields.

Assira Road

Assira is a village 2km from Nablus across the Ebal Mountain, but the direct way is closed so we can enjoy the small tracks leading to it from Askar village across a beautiful and fresh nature. It’s a 5km journey beginning very sloping, also enjoyable on a horse back. Rests of defensive towers and water reservoir hollowed in the rock can be seen on the way. The village itself (like all Palestinian villages ) has a new and a old quarter, which is just waiting a little rehabilitation to be magnificent. Assira people is very calm has its situation allows it, and know to has the highest education level in Palestine.