Pa l e s t i n i a n Te r r i t o r i e s 12. 2014 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Brightened by sunshine, the year of 2014 comes to an end in Jerusalem. Yet, the sunshine is deceptive: The political events of the past months have led the Palestini­an society deeply troubled. The trails of the Gaza War and the conti­nuous clashes in Jerusalem and the West Bank have dimmed the light. Slowly, the trust in an imminent solution to the Israe­li-Palestinian conflict dissolves. As in previous years, the FES office in the Palestinian Territories has accompanied the developing political events with nu­merous discussion rounds, conferences and workshops with old and new partners in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. It encouraged people to participate and politically engage, supported policy con­sultations through providing expertise, analysed current political and economic developments and connected Palestinians, Germans and Europeans in order to create a better understanding of the political rea­lity. A selection of those events and visits is compiled in this Review of the Year 2014 Newsletter. Moreover, a list of publications of our partners can be found below. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope for peaceful developments in the Middle East and are looking forward to providing you with in­formation about current events and our work in the future. With the best regards from Jerusalem, Ingrid Ross Director of the FES Office in the Palestini ­an Territories Design: ery foto Seite 1