French Jews call for extradition of Palestinians accused of terror attack 35 years ago

On the 35th anniversary of a deadly attack on a Paris kosher restaurant, French Jews call for the extradition of three Palestinians suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack.

CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities and organizations, issued a statement on the matter on Wednesday, August 9, the date in 1982 when six people were murdered and 22 injured on Rosiers Street in Paris in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in France after World War II.

The suspects in the attack on the Jo Goldberg deli are wanted for questioning in France as per a 2015 arrest warrant issued at France’s request. One of them lives in Jordan, another near Ramallah in the West Bank and a third in Norway, according to CRIF. None of the relevant governments have agreed to extradite the suspects, who French investigators believe belonged to the Abu Nidal terrorist group affiliated with Fatah.

But Francis Kalifat, president of CRIF, says France is partly responsible for the failure to bring the suspects in for questioning and possibly prosecution.

“We can only regret that France agrees to this situation and has not even complained about it to the Palestinian Authority, which is home to Mahmoud Kader Abed, also known as Hisham Harb, who was the main figure responsible for the attack,” Kalifat writes in a statement referencing one of the suspects.

Among the victims of the attack were two American citizens, Anne Van Zanten and Grace Cutler.

— JTA