PARIS — Palestinian national Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, also known as Hicham Harb, arrived in France on Thursday after Palestinian officials surrendered him to French authorities for his alleged role in the 1982 attack on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in Paris. He was flown to the Villacoublay military airbase outside Paris and placed in custody by French antiterrorism prosecutors.

Palestinian security forces arrested Abed Adra in the West Bank in September of last year. French antiterrorism prosecutors filed an extradition request days after his arrest.

On August 9, 1982, three to five men threw a grenade into Jo Goldenberg, a Jewish-owned restaurant in the Rue des Rosiers in Paris's historic Marais district, then opened fire on the street outside. Six people were killed and 22 were wounded. The attack was blamed on the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, which had split from the mainstream Palestine Liberation Organization.

Two other suspects are already in French custody. In February, France's highest court confirmed that a trial will proceed, upholding a ruling that had been challenged by the defendants.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the handover was directly linked to France's recent recognition of Palestinian statehood. Macron praised the Palestinian Authority's cooperation and said it reflected a commitment by President Mahmoud Abbas to work with France on counterterrorism.

Speaking late last year, Abbas said France's recognition of Palestinian statehood in September 2025 had "created an appropriate framework" for the extradition request. David Pere, a lawyer involved in the case, said "Forty-four years is too long." Abed Adra's lawyer described the extradition as "a serious violation of Palestinian fundamental law."