A man accused of coordinating a 1982 attack on aJewishrestaurant in Paris that killed six people arrived inFranceThursday after being extradited by thePalestinian Authority.
Hicham Harb, one of four suspects sought in connection with the August 9, 1982 attack, was detained on arrival at an air base near the capital and will be formally notified of the warrant against him on Friday, the national anti-terroristprosecution office said in a statement.
The attack rocked the French capital's historically Jewish Marais neighbourhood 44 years ago, when a group of three to five men hurled a grenade inside the Jo Goldenberg restaurant, then opened fire on customers, killing six people and wounding 22 others.
Harb, also known as Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra now aged 72 was arrested by Palestinian authorities in September 2025, days before French PresidentEmmanuel Macronofficially recognised a Palestinian state.
Palestinian presidentMahmoud Abbassaid later that year that Harb would be extradited, telling newspaper Le Figaro that France's decision to grant recognition had created an appropriate framework for this French request.
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Following the extradition, Macrons office thanked the Palestinian authorities in a statement for their cooperation, their commitment to fighting terrorism, as president Abbas promised.
The more than four decades elapsed since the attack is too long, said a lawyer for victims families, David Pere, calling for thetrialto be held as quickly as possible.
The attack was attributed to the Fatah-Revolutionary Council (Fatah-RC) led by Abu Nidal, a Palestinian splinter group that broke away from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Harb is believed to have been one of the coordinators of the assault.
In February, Frances Court of Cassation, the countrys highest court, confirmed that a trial would be held over the 1982 attack against two otherPalestiniansheld in France, one of whom has Norwegian citizenship.
Harb is also the subject of a 1988 German arrest warrant in connection with an attack at Frankfurt airport in 1985, and has been suspected by Italian investigators over an attack on asynagoguein Rome in 1982 in which a two-year-old was killed.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
