The site of the 1982 attack in the Jewish Quarter of Paris. Photo: David Monniaux via Wikimedia Commons.

French authorities have requested that six suspects be tried before a special terrorism court for their alleged involvement in a deadly terrorist attack on a Jewish restaurant in Paris 43 years ago that left six dead and at least 20 injured.

In a statement on Wednesday, France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) announced it is requesting the trial of Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, suspected of being one of the gunmen behind the attack, along with five other suspects, nearly four decades after the deadly incident.

The attack, the deadliest antisemitic incident in France since World War II, took place at a Jewish restaurant in Paris’ Jewish quarter, where two separate groups of men launched a coordinated assault using grenades followed by machine guns against customers and staff.

According to French media reports at the time, the attackers were believed to be members of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council (Fatah-RC), a radical Palestinian group based in Iraq and led by Abu Nidal.

Abu Zayed, a former member of the terror group, also known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), is suspected of being one of the attackers behind the mass murder at Chez Jo Goldenberg in Paris on August 9, 1982.

In 2015, French intelligence revealed that he had been living in Norway since the 1990s, sparking a lengthy extradition process met with strong resistance from Norwegian authorities.

In late 2020, Abu Zayed was charged with murder and attempted murder in a Paris court for his role in the 1982 attack on the kosher restaurant.

Now, French authorities have also issued arrest warrants for five other suspects, seeking to try them for complicity in murder and attempted murder linked to a terrorist organization. It remains unclear whether any of the five suspects are currently in France.

According to Radio France Internationale, it is widely believed that Abu Zayed was able to evade authorities for years because of a secret agreement between the French government and the Palestinian terrorist organization. The deal reportedly allowed members of the terror group to avoid prosecution as long as they refrained from carrying out further attacks in France.

This arrangement closely mirrors a deal between Germany and Palestinian terror groups after the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972. That agreement was a major factor prompting Israel to launch a retaliatory campaign to track down and kill the terrorists responsible for the attack.