Nayef Hawatmeh
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Nayef Hawatmeh (Arabic: نايف حواتمة ) (kunya Abu an-Nuf, b. in November 1935 in Salt, Jordan), is a Palestinian politician. His name can be transliterated from the Arabic in many ways; variants include Naif Hawatma, Niaf Hawathme, etc.
Hawatmeh hails from a Greek Orthodox Bedouin tribe. He is the Secretary-General of the Marxist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) since its formation in a 1969 split from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), of which he was also a founder. He was active as a left-wing leader in the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), which preceded the PFLP.
Israel always regarded Hawatmeh as a terrorist since the DFLP targeted civilians in attacks such as the Ma'alot massacre of 1974 and the Avivim school bus massacre.
He presently resides in Syria, from which the DFLP receives some support.
Hawatmeh attracted a lot of attention to himself when he shook hands with the Israeli President, Ezer Weizmann at the funeral of King Hussein in February 1999 drawing strong criticism from his Palestinian and Arab peers.
In 2004 he was briefly active in a joint Palestinian-Israeli non-governmental attempt to start a coalition of Palestinian groups supporting a two-state solution, and called for a cessation of hostilities in the al-Aqsa Intifada.
