Palestinian authorities have arrested Hicham Harb, a 70-year-old Palestinian man long suspected of orchestrating one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in modern French history, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office announced.

The arrest, made in the West Bank, comes more than four decades after the August 9, 1982 assault on Jo Goldenberg, a kosher restaurant in Paris’s Marais district. The attack killed six people and wounded 22 others. French prosecutors described the detention as a “major procedural breakthrough” in a case that has dragged on for decades.

The Jo Goldenberg attack began when terrorists threw a grenade into the crowded delicatessen. Gunmen armed with Polish WZ-63 submachine guns then stormed the restaurant, firing on diners and passersby on Rue des Rosiers before fleeing. Among the dead were two Americans and a French Jewish couple. The Abu Nidal Organization, a Palestinian splinter faction, was blamed for the assault. Founded by Sabri al-Banna, the group carried out hijackings, bombings, and assassinations across Europe and the Middle East before its leader’s death in 2002.

Harb, whose real name is Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, is accused of leading the commando unit. He had lived openly in Ramallah despite an international arrest warrant issued by France in 2015. A Paris court indicted Harb and five others in July for trial before the Special Assize Court on charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise.

Interpol notified French prosecutors of Harb’s arrest, crediting cooperation with Palestinian security forces. Efforts are underway to secure his extradition to France, where he faces a potential life sentence. Prosecutors noted that the trial cannot proceed fully without him.

French Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti reacted to the arrest: “I welcome the excellent cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. We are working together to ensure his swift extradition. This is another step forward for justice and truth. My thoughts are with all the families who have endured the pain of waiting for so long.”

Other indicted suspects include Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, extradited from Norway in 2020 and now detained in France, and Hazza Taha, arrested earlier this year in Paris. Three others remain at large in the Palestinian territories or Jordan.

“Forty-three years is an eternity to wait for accountability,” said Romain Boulet, a lawyer representing the daughter of one victim. “This arrest doesn’t erase the loss, but it affirms that no one is above the law—no matter how much time passes.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)