WEST BANK: Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, who was killed last week in a safe blast at his Prague apartment, is laid to rest in the West Bank
Record ID:
564844
WEST BANK: Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, who was killed last week in a safe blast at his Prague apartment, is laid to rest in the West Bank
- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, who was killed last week in a safe blast at his Prague apartment, is laid to rest in the West Bank
- Date: 8th January 2014
- Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 8, 2014) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE MORGUE PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR 'S DAUGHTER RANA AL-JAMAL ARRIVING AT MORGUE MOURNERS, INCLUDING DAUGHTER, STANDING AROUND BODY OF PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO PRAGUE JAMAL AL-JAMAL AMBASSADOR'S DAUGHTER RANA AL-JAMAL WEEPING, BEING ESCORTED BY OTHER WOMEN VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS CARRYING JAMAL'S BODY GUARDS LOADING BODY ONTO VEHICLE PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE MOSQUE CRESCENT ON TOP OF THE MOSQUE PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RIYAD AL-MALKI STANDING OUTSIDE MOSQUE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, RIYAD AL-MALKI, SAYING: "There are initial results but they are not final. The initial findings suggest that the explosion was a result of a device that was inside the metal safe that was supposed to go off if the safe were mishandled." VARIOUS MILITARY BAND LEADING FUNERAL PROCESSION VARIOUS OF BODY DRAPED IN PALESTINIAN FLAG BEING CARRIED BY NATIONAL SECURITY GUARDS VARIOUS OF BURIAL SERVICE MOURNERS GATHERED AT CEMETERY VARIOUS OF FUNERAL SERVICE FIRING SQUAD
- Embargoed: 23rd January 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Crime,Conflict,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAAH7FM7CFNBQKLEFR77X28PO6
- Story Text: The Palestinian ambassador to Prague, who died when a booby-trapped safe he opened exploded last week, was buried on Wednesday (January 8), in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Jamal al-Jamal, 56, died in hospital after the incident at his home on New Year's Day.
Draped in a Palestinian flag, the ambassador's body was taken from the morgue to a mosque in Ramallah, where mourners, including his daughter Rana al-Jamal and Palestinian officials, gathered to pay their last respects.
The body was then carried by national guards to a cemetery for an official burial ceremony.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, who arrived at the mosque to pay tribute to Jamal, said a final report on the circumstances of the ambassador's death would be handed to the Palestinian Authority by the Czech police within the next 10 days.
He said initial reports suggested the blast that killed the ambassador might have been caused by an explosive device securing the safe.
"There are initial results but they are not final. The initial findings suggest that the explosion was a result of a device that was inside the metal safe that was supposed to go off if the safe were mishandled," Malki said.
Last week, Czech police said they were not treating the incident as an attack or terrorist incident.
In a further twist, investigators found unlicensed weapons at the Palestinian diplomatic mission, and the Czech foreign ministry said it would be demanding an explanation.
Jamal had been in Prague only since October but had previously served at the mission for two decades from the mid-1980s, his daughter has said last week. He had used the safe during that period and it remained in Prague when he left, she added.
A spokesman for the Palestinian mission said the safe was being used on a daily basis to store cash.
Some safes can be fitted with small charges to destroy secret documents in the event of the lock being tampered with. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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