PARIS — More than 32 years after a deadly terror attack in Paris’ old Jewish quarter, French authorities have at last identified three suspects and are seeking their arrest.
Grenade-throwing Palestinians burst into the Jo Goldenberg deli on Aug. 9, 1982, and sprayed machine-gun fire. Six people, including two Americans, were killed, and 21 injured. The restaurant, which has since closed, was a centerpiece tourist attraction in the famed Marais neighborhood.
Paris prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said Wednesday that international arrest warrants have been issued for the three suspects — now in their late 50s and early 60s — who were believed to be members of the Abu Nidal group.
She says they are believed to be in the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Norway but declined to identify them by name, citing protocol.
The announcement comes as French authorities are grappling with rising anti-Semitism, notably among young Muslim radicals. A French Islamic extremist killed four people at a Paris kosher supermarket in January, and another French radical killed four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012.
The news that the 1982 attack suspects have been identified at last “is a very strong message to terrorists and killers: Wherever you are, we will find you, we will arrest you and we will judge you,” Alain Jakubowicz, head of anti-racism group LICRA, said on BFM television.
“It is strong in the current climate, and it is also a message of hope addressed to families of victims and our compatriots that our justice system works.”
The international arrest warrants follow an investigation conducted by leading French anti-terrorism judge Marc Trevidic.