Czech police say it wasn’t a booby-trapped vault that exploded and killed the Palestinian envoy to the Czech republic in his home in Prague earlier this year.  Investigators believe that “mishandling” an explosive device killed Jamal al-Jamal.

“The explosive was not placed on the door or inside the safe and was not there to protect the safe,” said police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova, speaking to earlier speculation that the safe might have been rigged to destroy sensitive documents if tampered with.

What’s not clear is if al-Jamal had any idea what he was handling in his official residence in the Palestinian embassy compound in the Czech capital when he was killed on 1 January.  But tests carried out by investigators suggest that he was holding an explosive in his hand when it went off.

As investigators combed the embassy complex for clues, they came across several weapons and explosives that were not officially registered with the Czech government.  Jamal al-Jamal has been a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the group recognized by the UN and Israel as representing the Palestinian people, since 1975.