Jakob Rieken is Program Manager at the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung (FES) in East Jerusalem and was previously Desk Officer for the Palestinian Territories and Israel at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). He wishes to thank Susan Rockwell, Ingrid Ross and Tessa Lambrich for helpful comments. The views expressed in this article are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his current or previous employer