flow increased and they were accommodated in new locations, established in former military camps, evacuated by the British. At this stage the Pardes Hana immigrant camp was established as well as immigrant camps next to Ra'anana, Bet Lid, Benyamina and Rosh Ha'ain. Later more camps were established in Be'er Ya'acov, Kiryat Eliyahu (Haifa), Kiryat Motzkin, Rehovot and Jerusalem. Those camps housed immigrants, who could not find better arrangements or receive assistance from relatives. Increasing influx By the end of 1948 there were 20 immigrant camps across Israel, housing 35,000 immigrants, while the capacity was standing at about 50,000. The time period, spent by immigrants in immigration camps turned longer and longer over time, reaching more than one month. At the end of 1949 there had been 90,000 Jews housed in immigration camps; by the end of 1951 this population rose to over 220,000 people, in about 125 separate communities. The sudden arrival of over 130,000 Iraqi Jews in Israel in the early 1950s meant that almost a third of immigrant camp dwellers by that time was of Iraqi Jewish origin. In addition to the Iraqi Jews, large numbers of Libyan and Yemenite Jews reshaped the immigrant camps into largely Sephardic and Mizrachi communities. Conversion of immigrant camps into transition camps The tent cities provided a harsh environment for the refugees and immigrants. As a result, more habitable housing were provided to replace the tents, and the camps were converted into "transition camps", or ma'abarot. The first transition camp was created in May 1950 in Jerusalem, and within two years the converted transition camps housed over 220,000 people. Most of ma'abarot residents were housed in temporary tin dwellings. Over 80% of the transition camp residents were Jewish refugees from across Arab and Muslim countries in Middle East and North Africa. Over time, the Ma'abarot metamorphosed into Israeli towns, or were absorbed as neighbourhoods of the towns they were attached to, and residents were provided with permanent housing. The number of people housed in camps began to decline after 1952, and the last Ma'abarot were closed sometime around 1963. Most of the transition camps became Development Towns - "Ayarat Pitu'ach". Ma'abarot, which became towns, include Kiryat Shmona, Sderot, Beit She'an, Yokneam, Or Yehuda and Migdal HaEmek. Conditions The immigrant camps were in fact tent cities, located in vicinity of Jewish cities and villages. The residents of the immigrant camps were entirely supported