Suspect Alleged to Be Behind 1982 Attack on Paris Jewish Restaurant Arrested in France
April 16, 2026
PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) - Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, a suspect alleged to have been behind a deadly attack in 1982 on a Jewish restaurant...
A significant breakthrough has been made in a decades-old act of terror with the arrest and extradition to France of a key suspect in the 1982 attack on the Jo Goldenberg Jewish restaurant in Paris. The suspect, identified as Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, also known as "Hicham Harb," arrived in France on April 16 after being handed over by the Palestinian Authority. He is accused of being a leader in the deadly assault that claimed six lives and left 22 people wounded in the heart of the city's historic Jewish quarter. The attack, which occurred on August 9, 1982, was the deadliest antisemitic act in France since the Second World War at the time.
The attack on the bustling restaurant in the Marais district was carried out by a commando unit of three to five individuals. The assailants threw a grenade into the dining room before opening fire with machine guns on the patrons and staff inside. They also shot at pedestrians as they fled the scene. For years, the investigation made little progress, leaving the families of the victims without a sense of justice. The case saw a major development in 2015 when French authorities issued international arrest warrants for several suspects. The attack has been attributed to the Abu Nidal Organization, a militant Palestinian splinter group that broke away from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The road to bringing the alleged perpetrators to justice has been long and complex. Another suspect, Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, was extradited to France from Norway in December 2020 after living there since 1991. However, attempts to extradite another alleged key figure, Mohamed Souhair al-Abassi, from Jordan have been unsuccessful. The decades-long delay in the investigation has been a source of pain for the victims' families, with a former French intelligence chief revealing in 2019 that a secret "verbal deal" was allegedly made with the Abu Nidal group in the 1980s, promising not to pursue them in exchange for an end to attacks on French soil.
Harb's extradition follows his arrest by Palestinian security forces in September 2025. His transfer was reportedly facilitated by France's recognition of the State of Palestine, which established a legal framework for the extradition request to be fulfilled. Upon his arrival at an airbase near Paris, Harb was taken into custody and is expected to be formally charged. French prosecutors have been seeking to put a total of six individuals on trial in connection with the attack for murder and attempted murder.
With Harb now on French soil, the legal process is expected to move forward, bringing the prospect of a trial closer than ever. This development represents a crucial step for the families of the victims who have waited over four decades for accountability. The case serves as a stark reminder of a violent period of terrorism in Europe and underscores the persistent efforts of French authorities to resolve one of the nation's most painful unsolved attacks. The upcoming legal proceedings will be closely watched by the international community and are a significant moment for the French justice system.
Source: usnews