In context

It was attacks like the one at Ma’alot that led Israeli troops to invade Southern Lebanon in 1978. They pulled back to a self-declared “security zone” in 1985 from which they withdrew in May 2000.

The Popular Democratic Front, now known as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, continued its operations during the late 1970s, and saw a steady increase in its membership.

But it began to distance itself from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and continued to oppose any kind of peace process.

In the late 1990s its leader, Naif Hawatmeh, sought reconciliation with mainstream Palestinians. In February 1999, he shocked hardline Palestinians by shaking hands with the Israeli President Ezer Weizman at the funeral of King Hussein of Jordan.