Palestinian ambassador in Prague killed in blast

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

PRAGUE (AP) — The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic died Wednesday in a blast that occurred when he opened an old safe that had been left untouched for more than 20 years, officials said.

Ambassador Jamel al-Jamal, 56, was at home with his family at the time of the explosion, according to Palestinian Embassy spokesman Nabil El-Fahel. Al-Jamal was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital where he died, according to police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said no foul play was suspected, noting that the safe had been left untouched for more than 20 years.

It also appeared that the door of the safe had been booby-trapped, according to Zoulova. It was unclear how al-Jamal tried to open it or what type of safe it was.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Palestinian-ambassador-in-Prague-killed-in-blast-5106468.php?cmpid=hpbn

[TwilightGardener]

1. No foul play was suspected? Er, OK. Just an accident, then.

[rickyhall]

2. Someone accidently rigged it to blow?

Happens all the time, next....

[hack89]

3. Some safes have self destruct mechanisms built into them

So the contents can be quickly destroyed. I am personally familiar with thermite devices.

[Igel]

4. On a hunch ...

It was rigged 20 years ago by somebody who knew what needed to be done if the safe was improperly opened. An old PLO safe, therefore not "safe" by most standards.

If the wrong person opened it--a safe-cracker, or somebody who stole the combination--then they'd be hurt bad. Thus either protecting a secret or just nailing somebody opening safes at random.

That person didn't leave instructions behind. Probably forgot about it. Might be long dead.

So it was intentionally booby trapped. But the booby who opened it wasn't the intended target.

[blackspade]

5. An old Mossad booby trap?

Or an old fail safe?
It's too bad the ambassador died.
Peace to his family.

[freshwest]

6. There was foul play from years ago. The reason is at the link:

The safe was recently moved from the old embassy building, but it had come from a building that used to house the Palestinian Liberation Organization's offices in the 1980s, Malki said...

During the 1980s — before the fall of the Soviet Union — the PLO had close ties with the Eastern bloc countries. In recent years, relations have been tense and the Czech government was seen as largely taking Israel's side in the Mideast conflict, said Nabil Shaath, a foreign affairs veteran and leading official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement...

"The ambassador wanted to know what is in the safe," Malki said. "He opened it and asked his wife to bring a paper and a pen to write down the contents of the safe. She left him to bring (the) pen and paper. During that time, she heard the sound of an explosion."

He said the ambassador had taken some of the contents out of the safe, but it wasn't immediately clear what was inside. It was also unclear how soon the explosion occurred after he opened the safe.

It suggests that certain documents were placed in that safe and never meant to be seen by anyone. He was just taking an inventory, doing his job. Some kind of nasty business was being done there and someone set this safe up to blow.

[oberliner]

7. Palestinian ambassador's daughter claims he was 'assassinated'

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The daughter of the Palestinian ambassador to Czech Republic who died in Prague Wednesday said an explosive device in his house was planted to assassinate him.

"The information about a safety device detonating in his safe is untrue," Jamal al-Jamal's daughter said.

"The safe has been used daily for 30 years in the headquarters of the Palestinian embassy. It is old, not modern, and has no (hi-tech) devices," Rana al-Jamal said.

She added that her father had used the safe without being harmed before heading to Egypt two months ago, a period in which the safe was used by other employees in the embassy.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=662321