Funeral for Palestinian Ambassador Killed in Prague Blast

The funeral of Palestinian ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, who was killed by an exploding safe in his residence in Prague, was held on Wednesday in Ramallah.

Published

about 1 year ago

Categories

World

Topics

Politics & Government, Terrorism, Middle East & North Africa

People

John Kerry, Milos Zeman, Jamal al-Jamal

Places

Israel, Czech Republic, Ramallah, Palestinian Authority, Prague

Transcript

SHOTLIST: RAMALLAH, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, JANUARY 8, 2014. SOURCE: AFPTV SOUNDBITE 1 - Riyad al-Malki (man), Palestinian foreign minister (Arabic, 21 sec): "We are truly satisfied with the progress of the investigation because the Czech police is taking the matter very seriously and is dealing with it professionally and neutrally, without bias over what happened. It's encouraging and it gives us confidence in the investigation." - VAR of the funeral for Palestinian ambassador to Prague Jamal al-Jamal /// ------------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: Mystery shrouds Palestinian ambassador's death in Prague by Jan FLEMR PRAGUE, Jan 2, 2014 (AFP) - Czech and Palestinian investigators were probing Thursday the mysterious death of the Palestinian envoy to Prague, who was killed by an exploding safe. Czech police have said they believe the blast was caused by the accidental detonation of an anti-theft device on the safe at the envoy's residence rather than an attack. "A Mystery," read the front-page headline of MF DNES, the top-selling Czech broadsheet daily. Jamal al-Jamal, 56, who had been in the post of ambassador only since October, suffered fatal injuries to his head, chest and stomach in the explosion. His 52-year-old wife was treated for smoke inhalation in hospital but discharged on Wednesday. "The safe that exploded was in almost everyday use," said Palestinian embassy spokesman Nabil al-Fahel. "The safe was pretty old, it was purchased in mid-1980s and according to our information there was no built-in anti-theft system," he said, adding that the embassy was in the process of moving to new premises. Asked what he thought had caused the blast, Fahel said: "We don't know exactly, we're waiting for the outcome of the investigation." A special Palestinian team is in Prague to help investigate the death of Jamal, a member of the ruling Palestinian Fatah party who served as a diplomat in Bulgaria and Egypt as well as the Czech Republic. "The evidence the police have doesn't suggest anything like a terror attack or that a specific person would set up a system with the intention to hurt or kill anyone," Czech police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova told AFP. The Czech Republic is a staunch ally of Israel but Prague has hosted a diplomatic mission from the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) since 1981, when it was the capital of Czechoslovakia. The mission became an embassy in 1988, but in November 2012 the Czech Republic was one of nine countries which voted against the UN General Assembly move to upgrade the Palestinians' status to non-member observer state. When Jamal began his mission, he had asked President Milos Zeman to rescind his call for the Czech embassy in Israel to be moved Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Palestinian foreign ministry said the blast occurred on Wednesday as Jamal was opening the safe. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries and was operated on but later died. Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki hailed him as "an exemplary diplomat who served his country and cause well". The blast occurred on the eve of a new visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories by US Secretary of State John Kerry to push faltering Middle East peace talks. 'Many questions over explosion' ------------------------------- "I think the Palestinian administration should explain many questions related to the explosion," security expert Andor Sandor, the former head of Czech military intelligence, told AFP. But Sandor said he considered a terror attack "very unlikely". "I can't see who and why would do it -- why would the Israeli commit a crime like this on the territory of a country which is an almost unprecedented supporter of Israel?" he said. "And an attack by Hamas doesn't look too realistic either," he added. Zoulova told AFP it was "definitely not standard to have an arsenal of weapons or explosives in such a building". "This is a question the police are dealing with within the investigations," she said, adding the police would have more news in days rather than hours. Born in Beirut in 1957, Jamal joined the Fatah party in 1975 and became an aide to the ambassador in Bulgaria four years later. He moved to Prague as a diplomat in 1984. After working as Palestinian consul to the Egyptian port city of Alexandria from 2005, he was appointed ambassador to the Czech Republic in October 2013. frj-mas/txw