(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Lappin - The high levels of the radioactive poison polonium reportedly found on the belongings of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat indicate that the toxin was planted on them long after his death, Dr. Ely Karmon of the Institute for Counterterrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya said Thursday. Polonium has a half-life of 138 days, "meaning that half of the substance decays roughly every four-and-a-half months." Yet, eight years after Arafat's death, Swiss scientists reported finding polonium at high levels. "If it had been used for poisoning, minimal levels should be seen now. Yet much higher levels were found. Someone planted the polonium much later." Karmon also asked: "If Suha Arafat safeguarded these contaminated materials, why, after seven years, was she not poisoned too?" In 2006, ex-Russian spy turned dissident Alexander Litvinenko died after being poisoned with polonium. Karmon also cited an article published Wednesday by the French daily Le Figaro which reported that the symptoms found in Arafat's French medical file do not fit polonium poisoning.
2012-07-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive