FES in Palestine

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung works in pursuit of pluralism and democracy and supporting stable and continuous economic and social development in the Middle East. Equal rights for women and the promotion of broad human rights are of special significance.

The FES office in Palestine aims to contribute to the attainment of immediate peace between Israel and Palestine as well as a more comprehensive security arrangement in the region. More concretely, this means that the FES supports democratic forces and actors in their work to create peace. This takes place, for example, through the organization of political forums in which creative approaches to solving the conflict and political intervention strategies are discussed. The FES thereby supports the discourse between Europe, Germany and the region on central questions of political transformation.

In Palestine, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung got involved at a very early stage. Since 1987, cooperation was carefully built up through our office in Amman, Jordan, which was then new. When the Oslo peace negotiations were sealed by the historic handshake of Yizhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat in front of the White House in September 1993, it was a matter of course for the FES to open an office in East Jerusalem as the first German political foundation (Stiftung), with the expressed approval from both parties to the conflict.

FES office in Palestine works with political and social partners, labor unions, civil society organizations, research centers and motivated change agents towards a socially just and independent Palestinian state. Together with its partners, FES advocates for increased democratic practices in all facets of pubic life, gender justice, socioeconomic justice, social protection networks, workers rights, minority rights, and the ongoing Palestinian struggle for statehood. 

FES connects Palestinian partners with German and other European partners, conducts joint political and socioeconomic research and advocacy projects, and organizes and hosts German and European delegations of Parliamentarians and decision makers in Palestine and vice-versa.