In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “name of a palestinian refugee camp established on the west bank in 1950 adjacent to the city of nablus”. Today it says “palestinian refugee camp established in the northern west bank in 1950”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “name of a palestinian refugee camp established on the west bank in 1950 adjacent to the city of nablus”. Today it says “palestinian refugee camp established in the northern west bank in 1950”.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
It currently houses 21,445 refugees .1It is currently the largest refugee camp in the West Bank.2During the Intifadah ( 1987 - 1993 ) the camp was very active, and the Israeli Defence Force demolished 74 shelters within the camp, killing and injuring many refugees. The United Nations funds a school in the Balata camp, which educates around 4,000 pupils.3UNRWA page on the Balata camp4
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16460664.
The opening as it stood in 2010 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
It currently houses 17,645 registered Palestinian refugees .Residents of the camp suggest that the number of residents is closer to 40,000. It is currently the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) funds a school in the Balata camp, with approximately 5,000 pupils.Balata Camp is one of the most densely populated locations on Earth.Less than two square kilometers in size, 30,000 people live in its concrete block houses.The layout of the camp is a product of its creation.In 1950, the UN gave the refugees from the Jaffa area temporary housing.These people initially refused the UN's offers, stating their eagerness to return to their homes.They desired no sense of permanence.After two years, these refugees accepted the UN's offer and settled at Balata.In 1956, the Jaffa refugees desired more permanent housing.The border with the recently created State of Israel having been sealed, the refugees accepted the UN's offer to build concrete structures in place of the refugee's tents.Balata camp today is so dense because these concrete structures were built on the actual plots families had been given for refugee's tents.There are some alleyways in the camp that are so narrow that large people cannot traverse them.UNRWA page on the Balata camp UNRWA
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369385664.
The opening as it stood in 2015 15 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank.Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 589912530.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Refugee Camp in Nablus, State of Palestine Balata Camp ( ) is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to the city of Nablus . It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 953601260.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Refugee Camp in Nablus, State of Palestine Balata Camp ( ) is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to Balata village on the outskirts of the city of Nablus . It is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank. Balata Camp is densely populated with 30,000 residents in an area of 0.25 square kilometers.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1140490487.
The opening as it stood in 2025 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Refugee Camp in Nablus, State of Palestine Balata Camp ( Arabic : مخيم بلاطة ) is a Palestinian refugee camp established in the northern West Bank in 1950, adjacent to Balata village on the outskirts of the city of Nablus . Balata Camp had a population of 14,635 in 2017.Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1289558601. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “name of a palestinian refugee camp established on the west bank in 1950 adjacent to the city of nablus”. Today it says “palestinian refugee camp established in the northern west bank in 1950”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
name of a palestinian refugee camp established on the west bank in 1950 adjacent to the city of nablus
Now
palestinian refugee camp established in the northern west bank in 1950
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
