Rue des Rosiers attack: a suspect extradited to France, 43 years later

This time, it's not just another empty promise in a long-running saga. The Palestinian Authority has extradited Hicham Harb, a Palestinian suspected of overseeing the 1982 bombing on Rue des Rosiers in Paris, to France, according to his lawyer, Ammar Dweik. "Hicham Harb's family contacted me today to inform me that they had been notified by the Palestinian Authority of his extradition to France," he stated, specifying that the transfer took place on Thursday.

Back to the summer of 1982. On August 9, a grenade attack followed by automatic gunfire targeted the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in the Marais district. Six people were killed and 22 wounded, a shock that left its mark on Paris and beyond. The attack was attributed to Fatah-Revolutionary Council of Abu Nidal, a Palestinian group that had broken away from the PLO. Hisham Harb is among several suspects wanted for years by the French justice system, proof that some cases don't age, they fester.

A case that refuses to close.

A case that refuses to close. For the past few months, the wheels of justice have been turning faster. In February, the Court of Cassation upheld the prospect of a trial, despite objections from two defendants: Abou Zayed, a Norwegian of Palestinian origin presented as one of the shooters, detained in France since 2020, and Hazza Taha, born in the West Bank, suspected of having concealed weapons, and placed under judicial supervision. The arrest of Hicham Harb, announced by the Palestinian authorities in September 2025, was already part of this acceleration.

The political backdrop remains, never far from the surface when sensitive extraditions are involved. In late 2025, Mahmoud Abbas linked the idea of ​​a transfer to France's recognition of a Palestinian state, referring to it as "an appropriate framework for this French request" in an interview with Le Figaro. Hicham Harb is also the subject of a 1988 German arrest warrant in connection with the investigation into the 1985 Frankfurt airport bombing, and his name appears in other European investigations, according to judicial sources. In France, the arrival of yet another suspect rekindles a simple, almost stubborn expectation: that justice will finally be served, despite the passage of time and geographical barriers.