Mystery Deepens Around Diplomat's Explosive Death

Palestinians release conflicting statements about the safe
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 2, 2014 1:42 PM CST
Mystery Deepens Around Diplomat's Explosive Death
Investigators stand near the residence of Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic Jamal Al-Jamal.   (AP Photo/CTK, Katerina Sulova)

The plot thickened today around the mysterious explosion that killed Palestinian ambassador Jamal al-Jamal in Prague. Initially, reports had indicated that Jamal had opened a booby-trapped embassy safe—one that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said hadn't been opened in more than 20 years. But an embassy spokesperson has since told Radio Prague and Reuters that the safe was "opened and closed almost every day," and hadn't been fitted with any explosive devices. That, NPR explains, suggests "that something more sinister may have happened."

But that's not all. Czech police investigating the incident also found a cache of unregistered weapons in the Palestinian embassy, so police are now investigating the incident as a case of negligence and possession of illegal armaments, the AP reports. One Czech website reported that there were enough guns to outfit a 10-member squad, including a sub-machine gun. (More Jamal al-Jamal stories.)

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