Palestinian Authority Extradites Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, Also Known As Hicham Harb, To France

A suspect in the 1982 Paris Jewish restaurant attack was extradited to France on Thursday, with multiple outlets identifying him as Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, also known as Hicham Harb.

“A man suspected of organising a deadly attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris has been arrested and placed in custody in France after being handed over by Palestinian authorities”

Al Jazeera

France 24 reported that Hicham Harb, “now 72,” was detained on arrival in Paris and was due to face formal proceedings over one of France’s deadliest post-war antisemitic attacks.

Al Jazeera

Le Monde said the Palestinian Authority extradited Hicham Harb to France and that his lawyer, Ammar Dweik, told AFP the extradition took place on Thursday, April 16, 2026.

Le Monde also quoted the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) statement that “Pursuant to an extradition request from the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office dated September 30, 2025, the person concerned was handed over today, April 16, 2026, by the Palestinian authorities to the French judiciary.”

Devdiscourse similarly said the French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office confirmed his custody following extradition from Palestinian authorities.

The same Le Monde report said Emmanuel Macron welcomed the extradition as “one of the principal suspects in the antisemitic terrorist attack on Rue des Rosiers in 1982,” according to a statement from the Élysée.

Al Jazeera added that the handover was linked by Macron directly to France’s recent recognition of Palestinian statehood, stating that the handover “French President Emmanuel Macron linked directly to France’s recent recognition of Palestinian statehood.”

The extradition followed the 1982 attack on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant on Rue des Rosiers in Paris’s historic Marais district, where attackers threw a grenade and then opened fire.

France 24 said the attack occurred on August 9, 1982, when “a group of three to five men hurled a grenade inside the Jo Goldenberg restaurant, then opened fire on customers, killing six people and wounding 22 others.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Al Jazeera described the same sequence, saying that on “August 9, 1982, three to five men threw a grenade into Jo Goldenberg, a Jewish-owned restaurant in the Rue des Rosiers,” before opening fire on the street outside, leaving “Six people were killed and 22 wounded.”

Le Monde similarly stated that on August 9, 1982, “six people were killed and dozens wounded in Paris’s Jewish Marais district by the explosion of a grenade at the Jo Goldenberg restaurant, followed by a gun attack carried out by a commando of three to five men.”

Multiple outlets identified Hicham Harb as one of the coordinators or supervisors of the assault.

France 24 said Harb was “one of four suspects sought in connection with the August 9, 1982 attack,” and that he was believed to have been one of the coordinators of the assault.

Le Monde described him as “an alleged supervisor of the attack on a Jewish restaurant on Rue des Rosiers that killed six people in Paris in 1982.”

The extradition was the latest step in a long-running French investigation and prosecution effort tied to multiple court decisions and other suspects held in France.

“Print Edition Read pdf version Home {{tree}} {{link”

Arab News

France 24 said Harb was arrested by Palestinian authorities in September 2025, “days before French President Emmanuel Macron officially recognised a Palestinian state,” and that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said later that year that Harb would be extradited, telling Le Figaro that France’s recognition had created “an appropriate framework for this French request.”

Le Monde added that the extradition request had a dated origin, quoting the PNAT statement referencing “September 30, 2025,” and it also said the extradition was to be effective “a little earlier but the war in the [Middle East] led to the closure of airspace and delayed the operation by a few weeks,” according to the Quai d’Orsay.

France 24 reported that the national anti-terrorist prosecution office said Harb would be formally notified of the warrant against him on Friday.

Al Jazeera said French antiterrorism prosecutors filed an extradition request days after Harb’s arrest in September last year and that he was flown to the Villacoublay military airbase outside Paris on Thursday, where he was taken into custody.

The Times of Israel said French authorities announced in 2015 that international arrest warrants had been issued for Harb and five other suspects, and that in July a French judge ordered a trial for them.

Le Monde said that nearly 44 years after the events, the Court of Cassation confirmed in February the holding of a trial, which was contested by two defendants: Abu Zayed and Hazza Taha.

While all the reports describe the extradition of Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, also known as Hicham Harb, to France, they emphasize different aspects of the case, including age, legal framing, and the political context of state recognition.

France 24 foregrounded Harb’s age and the formal process, saying he was “now 72” and that he “will be formally notified of the warrant against him on Friday.”

France 24

Devdiscourse similarly framed the arrest as a “significant development,” stating that the French anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office confirmed custody following extradition and that he arrived at “a French military airbase, where he was formally arrested.”

Al Jazeera tied the handover to diplomacy, stating that the handover “French President Emmanuel Macron linked directly to France’s recent recognition of Palestinian statehood,” and it quoted the legal critique from Harb’s lawyer describing the extradition as “a serious violation of Palestinian fundamental law.”

Le Monde focused on the written legal basis and the statement from PNAT, quoting the exact language about the extradition request dated “September 30, 2025” and the handover on “April 16, 2026.”

The Times of Israel added a different procedural detail by reporting that Harb’s family received a call from the Ramallah police chief informing them that he was en route to Jordan, “from where he would be extradited to France,” and it described the attack as “the deadliest antisemitic atrocity in France since World War II.”

Israel National News also quoted AFP via Harb’s lawyer, Ammar Dweik, saying “Hicham Harb’s family contacted me today to inform me that they had been notified by the Palestinian Authority of his extradition to the French authorities,” while People Daily and The Straits Times used similar AFP-based narratives.

The extradition sets up further legal steps in France, with multiple outlets describing the trial process and the broader set of suspects.

“✕ Home News Analysis Agro-Forestry Art & Culture Technology Economy & Business Education Energy & Extractives Politics Law & Governance Health Science & Environment Social & Gender Sports Transport Urban Development WASH Research LogIn/SignUp Close the sidebar Paris Restaurant Attack Suspect Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra Arrested Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, implicated in a 1982 deadly attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris, has been arrested in France”

Devdiscourse

France 24 said Harb was detained on arrival in Paris and “is due to face formal proceedings,” and it described that the attack was attributed to the Fatah-Revolutionary Council led by Abu Nidal, with Harb believed to have been one of the coordinators.

Gulf News

Le Monde said the PNAT handed him over to French justice and that Macron welcomed the extradition, while also noting that the Court of Cassation confirmed in February that a trial would be held, contested by defendants including Abu Zayed and Hazza Taha.

Al Jazeera said that “Two other suspects are already in French custody,” and that in February France’s highest court confirmed that a trial will proceed, a ruling challenged by the defendants.

The Times of Israel reported that in July a French judge ordered a trial for Harb and five other suspects, and it listed additional suspects still at large, including Nabil Hassan Mahmoud Othmane and Nizar Tawfiq Moussa Hamada, and Mohamed Souhair al-Abassi in Jordan.

Le Monde added that two other Jordanian suspects in the Rue des Rosiers attack remain in Jordan, and it said the French foreign ministry lamented that Jordan’s Supreme Court refused to extradite them.

David Pere, a lawyer for victims’ families, appears in multiple reports calling for speed, with France 24 quoting him saying “Forty-four years is too long,” and the reports also describe the wider history of warrants and related attacks.