Israel permits Hawatemah into Palestinian territories

The Israeli authorities on Monday permitted the secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Nayef Hawatemah to get into the territories under the Palestinian self-rule. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he agreed to the return of Hawatemah in response to a decision submitted by the chairman of the Palestinian Authority in this respect, in light of Hawatemah's announcement of backing the Oslo agreement and his readiness to join the final status negotiations with Israel.