A man suspected of involvement in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on French soil in the 1980s has been taken into custody in France, more than four decades after the killings took place.
Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra — also known as Hicham Harb — was arrested following his transfer to a French military airbase, where Palestinian authorities had handed him over to French officials. France’s anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office confirmed the detention on Thursday.
A Neighbourhood Scarred by Violence
The attack he is alleged to have been connected to took place in August 1982, when gunmen opened fire on Jo Goldenberg’s restaurant on Rue des Rosiers — a street at the centre of Paris’s historic Marais district and long considered the heartland of the city’s Jewish community. Six people were killed in the assault.
The street has since become a symbol of the vulnerability of Jewish life in France during a period of heightened political violence across Europe.
A Long Road to Arrest
The arrest marks a significant development in a case that has remained open for over forty years. According to the French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office, Adra’s transfer was made possible through cooperation with Palestinian authorities, before he arrived on French soil via a military airbase.
No further details were immediately provided regarding the precise charges he faces or the timeline of forthcoming legal proceedings.
