France thanks Palestinian authorities for arresting suspect in 1982 Paris attack

French prosecutors said Friday that Palestinian authorities have detained a key suspect in the 1982 attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris, an operation that killed six people and has long been described as France’s “deadliest antisemitic act since World War II.”

The attack was carried out by the Abu Nidal Organization, a faction that split from Fatah within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

The operation targeted the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in the Marais, a historically Jewish neighborhood in Paris.

Hicham Harb, now 70, is accused of directing the assault and taking part as one of the gunmen.

Also known as Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, he had been wanted under an international arrest warrant for a decade.

Read more: Macron: Two years of Israel's military campaign, yet Hamas' forces remain the same

French prosecutors said they were notified of Harb’s arrest through Interpol and hailed it as a “major procedural breakthrough," thanking Palestinian officials for their cooperation.

President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the development, confirming the arrest took place in the occupied West Bank and saying France would seek Harb’s swift extradition.

"This is another step forward for justice and truth," Macron wrote on X. "My thoughts are with all the families who have endured the pain of waiting for so long."

The arrest comes just days before France is expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly on Monday, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority but rejected by ‘Israel.’

Harb is one of six suspects tied to the 1982 attack.

In July, a French court ordered all six to stand trial; four remain subject to international warrants, while two are already in France.

Among them is 66-year-old Abou Zayed, a Norwegian of Palestinian origin, who was extradited from Norway in 2020 but has denied involvement.

On the day of the attack, a grenade was hurled into the restaurant’s dining room before gunmen opened fire with Polish-made Wz-63 machine guns, killing or wounding 28 people in total.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he had briefed the victims’ families on the latest developments, adding that Harb’s arrest was the result of diplomatic efforts initiated by Macron. He suggested that France’s planned recognition of a Palestinian state would strengthen its ability to request extradition.