Explosives Found at Palestinian Embassy in Prague

Jan. 16, 2014 12:39 p.m. ETPRAGUE—Explosives were found in the Palestinian embassy in Prague Thursday during a continuing investigation at the site following a blast on New Year’s Day that lead to the death of the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Czech police spokesman Tomas Hulan, speaking on television, confirmed that investigators had found explosives, but chose not to answer questions about what type of explosive was found, its age or origin.
The police have taken the explosives to forensic labs for analysis, Mr. Hulan said.
This discovery follows the death of Jamal al-Jamal, 56, earlier this month when an old office safe deposit box that had been installed in the newly-built embassy exploded while he was using it, police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said.
Following the initial blast, Czech police also found 12 firearms in the embassy, which is illegal according to international treaties.
Palestinian authorities earlier this week apologized to their Czech counterparts for hiding weapons in the embassy and breaking diplomatic protocol, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.
At the start of the year the police said they weren’t aware of any deliberate intentions to harm the ambassador, however some suspect foul play.
Rana al-Jamal, Mr. Jamal’s daughter, told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month that she was convinced the explosion must have been intentional due to circumstances she called strange, such as the explosion happening in the master bedroom of the official residence.
“I can only speculate about the motive but it could have been political,” she said.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki has said no foul play was suspected.
Czech police investigators suspect the safe was fitted with an anti-tampering security-explosive device that detonated when the ambassador tried to open its door.
Mr. al-Jamal, who had previously lived in Prague in the 1990s as the Palestinian Authority’s chargé d’affaires, took up the post of ambassador to the Czech Republic in October.
He and his family had only recently moved into the newly-built residence in a Prague suburb and were still unpacking their belongings.
Write to Sean Carney at sean.carney@wsj.com

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