The Palestinian envoy to the Czech republic is dead after an explosion caused by accidentally upsetting a booby-trapped safe.  The Palestinian authority says the safe is a relic from the PLO days and hasn’t been touched in more than two decades.

56-year old Jamal al-Jamal died on New Year’s Day in hospital four hours after the blast in his house in Prague.  He had been planning to move the safe into the new Palestinian Embassy building, but apparently tried opening it.  Jamal suffered lethal injuries to his head, chest and abdomen, according to surgeon Daniel Langer.  A 52-year old woman believed to be Jamal’s wife suffered slight smoke inhalation.

“The safe was sitting neglected in one of the areas of the old embassy.  No one had touched it for 20 to 25 years,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki.  It’s not a common practice, but safes and vaults can be rigged with an explosive charge to destroy sensitive documents in the event of tampering.

Jamal had been at his new job in the Czech Republic only since 11 October 2013.  Al-Malki said that Jamal was “an example of a successful diplomat who was diligent in serving his country and his cause.”