Officials in the Palestine Liberation Organization have confirmed that the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) — currently based in Syria — is asking once more for a chance to come to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Nayef Hawatmeh, born in the Jordanian city of Salt in 1938, has led the DFLP since 1969, but has not yet been able to visit Palestine even though his PLO faction is allowed to work there. Since the PLO and Israel exchanged letters of recognition in 1993, Hawatmeh, along with other Palestinian leaders, was granted a national ID card that technically allows him to enter into Palestinian areas. After the signing of the Oslo Accords, Hawatmeh refused to enter the OPT, criticizing the agreement reached in secret in the Norwegian capital a “sell out.”

Hawatmeh later agreed to enter and was on the verge of doing so in 1999 until he enraged the Israelis to the extent that they announced that he would not be allowed to cross the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge. Hawatmeh’s "error" in Israeli eyes was an interview he gave that year to Qatari satellite station Al-Jazeera. Asked whether he still supported the armed struggle, Hawatmeh answered in the affirmative.

Israelis have a bloody history with Hawatmeh and his guerilla group, blaming them for a botched military infiltration attempt from south Lebanon in 1974, with guerilla fighters entering the northern Israeli village of Maalot. After a two day standoff in which DFLP fighters had held 115 hostages, a battle ensued resulting in the death of 25 Israelis, including many children, as well as the Palestinian fighters.