Brussels Square
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A Frenchman accused of shooting dead four people in an attack on a Jewish museum appeared in court in Belgium for a pre-trial hearing on Thursday.

Mehdi Nemmouche, allegedly the first jihadist to return from Syria to stage a terror attack on European soil, is charged with murder in the May 24, 2014 attack.

The 33-year-old confirmed his identity in the Brussels criminal court alongside his alleged accomplice, fellow French citizen 30-year-old Nacer Bendrer.

Thursday's hearing was arranged to finalize the witness list before the full trial, which is due to start next month, but was the pair's first public appearance.

In the attack, a man opened fire with an assault rifle in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, killing two Israeli tourists, a French volunteer and a Belgian receptionist.