I cannot open the rear hatch on my 98 cherokee. How can I open it and fix it..?

 

Crawl back into the cargo area. Take out any screws holding the carpeted panel in place. Gently pull on the carpeted panel with your fingers or a small tool and work it off the tailgate. There are 8-10 plastic fasteners holding it in place. Don't get rough with it; these tear out easily.

When you get the panel off, look in the lower center where the latch is. You can pull the latch release towards you to release the hatch. You will pull in the place where the outside pushbutton pushes a plate.

 

I had the exact same issue on my 98 Sport two weeks ago.
What Firestorm500 suggested is the only way to open it and that's how I opened mine.
Pain in the neck and watch for the sharp plastic egdes or you'll end up with a pain on your fingers too.

 

Carpeted panel? I don't have a carpeted panel on my 98. What I did was remove the screws from the top of the panel, pop the struts off and side panels so I could get to the other screws, then pry the top of the panel out enough to get my hand down in there.

Once you get it open, definitely pull the panel all the way off and adjust and lube the mechanism.

 

OK, my Jeeps are not that new, one is an '87 and the other is a '92. They have carpet.

Carpet or plastic, the idea and goal is the same.

 

Get in the back and kick the hell out of it while someone is trying to open in or take the nut out of the latch(take the back bumper off and you will see them).

I have done both on my old 98.