Analyst Finds The Polonium That Supposedly Killed Arafat Was Planted

The Jerusalem Post is reporting about an analyst who concludes that Polonium found on Arafat's clothing was planted

Dr. Ely Karmon, of the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center's Institute for Counter-Terrorism, is a specialist in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear terrorism.

Responding to an Al Jazeera report publishedWednesday, which said that specialists at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland, discovered abnormally high levels of polonium on Arafat's belongings, Karmon said that the half life of the substance would make it impossible for polonium to have been discovered at such high levels if it had been used to kill Arafat eight years ago.

According to the Al-Jazeera report, polonium has a half-life of 138 days, "meaning that half of the substance decays roughly every four-and-a-half months."

And yet, eight years after Arafat's death, the Swiss scientists reported finding polonium levels of 54mBq and 180mBq on his belonging, considered to be high levels.
"If it had been used to for poisoning, minimal levels should be seen now. Yet much higher levels were found. Someone planted the polonium much later," Karmon said.
"Because of the half life of the substance, the conclusion is that the polonium is much more fresh," he added.

Another issue related to the strength of the Polonium is fairly matter-of-fact: if indeed Suha Arafat is telling the truth and has been holding onto these contaminated articles all this time, why isn't she sick?

After all, didn't she come into contact with Arafat himself when he was in the hospital?

We will just have to wait for the rest of the media to catch up.

Technorati Tag: Arafat and Polonium.