Palestinian Authority arrests suspect in 1982 attack on Paris Jewish restaurant

Six people were killed and 22 were injured in the terror attack, making it the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since World War II and scarring the French capital’s Jewish community.

By Grace Gilson, JTA

The Palestinian Authority has arrested a key suspect in a deadly antisemitic terror attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris in 1982, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Friday.

The Palestinian suspect, Hicham Harb, 70, was arrested for allegedly orchestrating the Aug. 9, 1982, terror attack on Chez Jo Goldenberg in which terrorists threw a grenade into the crowded restaurant and fired machine guns at diners and pedestrians.

Six people were killed and 22 were injured in the terror attack, making it the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since World War II and scarring the French capital’s Jewish community.

Macron announced the arrest in a post on X, writing that he had thanked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas over the phone for his “excellent cooperation” in the arrest, adding that they were “committed to working together to extradite him at the maximum speed.”

The French president also took the opportunity to restate his commitment to recognizing Palestinian statehood Monday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

He had said the plan was contingent on having been assured by Abbas that the PA would be a responsible leader.

“This recognition is part of a comprehensive peace plan for the region, aimed at meeting the aspirations for security and peace of Israelis and Palestinians alike,” wrote Macron.

Thus far, France has been joined by a growing list of countries, including Canada, Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom, that have announced their intention of recognizing Palestinian statehood amid Israel’s escalating offensive in Gaza.

On Monday, as the UN’s 193-member nations arrive in New York for six days of speeches by nearly 150 heads of state, Gaza is likely to take center stage.

On Friday, weeks after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would be “denying and revoking” the visas of Palestinian officials, the General Assembly voted to allow Abbas to address the leaders by prerecorded video next week.

The General Assembly also overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration last week outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

The declaration condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, as well as Israel’s subsequent military operations in the region, which it said “have resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.”

The seven-page declaration, put forth in July at a conference on the conflict co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, received 142 votes in favor and 10 against, including from Israel and the United States.

“The goal has been achieved! France has achieved the international isolation of Hamas,” wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a post on X.

“For the first time today, the United Nations adopted a document that condemns it for its crimes, calling for its surrender and disarmament.”