French authorities have detained a 72-year-old man considered a key suspect in a grenade and gun attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris in 1982, in which six people were killed. Hicham Harb was extradited by the Palestinian National Authority on Thursday, in response to a request last September by France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT).
Harb, whose real name is Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, is suspected of directing the attack in the Rue des Rosiers and acting as one of the gunmen who shot at diners. French President Emmanuel Macron thanked the Palestinian Authority and said it was a concrete demonstration of judicial co-operation resulting from France's recognition of a Palestinian state in September 2025.
Upon arrival at the Villacoublay air force base near Paris, Harb was placed in detention, according to PNAT. No-one has ever been convicted of carrying out the six killings inside and outside the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in the historically Jewish Marais quarter of Paris, in which more than 20 other people were wounded. The attackers initially threw a grenade into the restaurant, followed by at least three men who entered firing machine guns as people attempted to escape.
Last year, France's highest judicial court, the Court of Cassation, ordered a trial for six suspects, of whom three are in absentia and living in the West Bank, Jordan, and Kuwait. The Rue des Rosiers attack was attributed to a Palestinian splinter group led by notorious militant Abu Nidal, responsible for a slew of deadly assaults constituting a significant threat in the 1980s. Two suspects in the Paris attack are already in France, including Norwegian citizen Abou Zayed, believed to be one of the gunmen, and Hazza Taha, suspected of hiding weapons used in the attack.
Abou Zayed's lawyers have denied any allegations against him, while Harb's son, Bilal al-Adra, claimed the extradition was illegal and lacked guarantees of a fair trial. The Paris courts, however, have declined an appeal to have the case heard by a jury instead of judges in a special court. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has stated commitments to bring suspects to trial, asserting that despite the 44 years that have passed since the attack, justice could eventually be served. Faced with anti-Semitism and terrorism, France never forgets and never gives up.\
Harb, whose real name is Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, is suspected of directing the attack in the Rue des Rosiers and acting as one of the gunmen who shot at diners. French President Emmanuel Macron thanked the Palestinian Authority and said it was a concrete demonstration of judicial co-operation resulting from France's recognition of a Palestinian state in September 2025.
Upon arrival at the Villacoublay air force base near Paris, Harb was placed in detention, according to PNAT. No-one has ever been convicted of carrying out the six killings inside and outside the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in the historically Jewish Marais quarter of Paris, in which more than 20 other people were wounded. The attackers initially threw a grenade into the restaurant, followed by at least three men who entered firing machine guns as people attempted to escape.
Last year, France's highest judicial court, the Court of Cassation, ordered a trial for six suspects, of whom three are in absentia and living in the West Bank, Jordan, and Kuwait. The Rue des Rosiers attack was attributed to a Palestinian splinter group led by notorious militant Abu Nidal, responsible for a slew of deadly assaults constituting a significant threat in the 1980s. Two suspects in the Paris attack are already in France, including Norwegian citizen Abou Zayed, believed to be one of the gunmen, and Hazza Taha, suspected of hiding weapons used in the attack.
Abou Zayed's lawyers have denied any allegations against him, while Harb's son, Bilal al-Adra, claimed the extradition was illegal and lacked guarantees of a fair trial. The Paris courts, however, have declined an appeal to have the case heard by a jury instead of judges in a special court. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has stated commitments to bring suspects to trial, asserting that despite the 44 years that have passed since the attack, justice could eventually be served. Faced with anti-Semitism and terrorism, France never forgets and never gives up.\
