Attempts by US President Donald Trump's administration to eliminate the issues of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem as talking points in potential peace talks are being tested at the Shuafat refugee camp.

The camp in the northern sector of East Jerusalem has been run by the United Nations Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA) since 1950. According to the UNRWA, 12,500 Palestinians living in the camp are registered with the UN agency, which supplies basic education, health care and other services.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem, including the Shuafat camp, in 1967 — a move that hasn't been recognized by a single member of the United Nations, not even the United States. UN officials told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that because of its proximity to Jerusalem, the camp's population has mushroomed to 24,000 inhabitants. Most of them aren't registered as refugees, but live in the camp to facilitate their business dealings in the nearby Old City of Jerusalem.

Israel’s mayor of the so-called united city of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, whose second and final term will end Oct. 30, thinks residents of the camp should no longer be called refugees. In an Oct. 8 interview with the Associated Press, Barkat said, “I look at all of my residents as residents. There's no such thing as residents that live in the city of Jerusalem that are defined as refugees.” He added, “We will treat them like any other residents in the city and provide the best services we can.”