Weapons cache found at slain Palestinian envoy’s Prague home

(JTA) — A cache of illegal weapons was discovered at the home of the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic a day after he was killed in an explosion there.

A Czech police spokeswoman confirmed to local media that the arms, reportedly enough to arm 10 people, were found in the Prague home of Jamal al-Jamal.

The weapons were not registered with Czech authorities, according to reports.

Al-Jamal, who in October was named the envoy to Prague, was killed Wednesday when a safe in the home exploded. Conflicting reports said the safe had not been in use in 20 years or that it had been in regular use.

The safe recently was moved from a former embassy building that had housed the offices of the Palestinian Liberation Organization more than two decades ago. The ambassador reportedly had removed some of the safe’s contents before it exploded, according to The Associated Press.

Al-Jamal joined the Fatah movement in 1975. He served as a diplomat in Bulgaria and then in 1984 in Prague. Between 2005 and 2013 he was consul general to Alexandria, Egypt.