Arafat was poisoned with radioactive polonium, Swiss radiation experts say

LONDON: Nine years after the mysterious death of Yasser Arafat, Swiss toxicologists and radiation experts have revealed that they have found traces of polonium on the Palestinian leader's clothes. This almost confirms that the Palestinian leader was poisoned to death in 2004 while in France.

Arafat was poisoned with radioactive polonium, Swiss radiation experts say

This is news. This needs to be thoroughly investigated.The remains of Yasser Arafat have been exhumed and are being investigated for cause of death.A thorough analysis was carried out on 75 different samples, 38 of them taken from Arafat's belongings.

I posted on this months ago when they dug him up

Here

Whats interesting is that it pretty much proves I think that he was assassinated.

reply to post by awakehuman


This is certainly interesting, but to be totally certain of an assassination, one would have to show radioactive isotopes in the flesh and bone of the subject. Or to be more accurate, to prove that it was radiation that killed Arafat, one would have to prove that the material was in his body, rather than just having been applied to the clothing.

reply to post by TrueBrit


Agreed, like I said, its pretty close to proof.

like you though I dont think it proves it 100%, there still exists some reasonable doubt

personally I think they assassinated him and this is a step closer to proving that.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


I think the same, but you would expect that trace amounts of the radiation would be in the deep structure of the bones at least, if not any remaining flesh tissue. And if it had been in Arafats body when he was alive, it would have penetrated more of the deep tissues and layers of bone.

reply to post by awakehuman


The finger will point to the Israelis but who had the most to gain with Arafat gone???? I would venture that Hamas did, not Israel. Israel had a semi-working relationship with Arafat, he wasn't the threat to them that Arafat was to Hamas.

It' would be so easy for Hamas to have done it and EVERYONE would look towards Israel as the culprit.

Just saying.

Israel has had Dozens if not more, times to assassinate Arafat for far better reasons in the past, why would they have chosen this time?

I don't think that many people who have watched international issues over the years would be surprised at all if it is confirmed that Arafat was indeed poisoned. No country will ever admit to doing it but it would be hardly a surprise I would say.

He had many countries and opponents that benefited from his death without question. Israel is the logical suspect but not the only suspect.

Well the thing is near enough is good enough in some instances for some people, so if anything is going to fire the Palestinians up again this will.

Interesting update, although even an exhumation may not prove assassination beyond a doubt:

Scientists caution that traces on Arafat's clothing aren't sufficient proof of poisoning. Exhuming his body would a surer method. Derek Hill, a radiological science expert at University College London, said eight years after Arafat's death in 2004, any polonium would have decayed and would be far less radioactive than it was at the time. But he says it would still be much higher than normal background levels, and with an autopsy it should be possible to tell "with a pretty high confidence" whether Arafat had polonium in his body when he died.

bigstory.ap.org...

Israel would be the logical suspect here.But,let's take a look at the others who have gained from Arafat's death Hamas and perhaps his inner circle at the time.

mike dangerously
Israel would be the logical suspect here.But,let's take a look at the others who have gained from Arafat's death Hamas and perhaps his inner circle at the time.

true, but who kills with polonium? Russia does, but what would they gain from Arafat's death?

Could this have been a plan of Putin to destabilize the Middle East and place Russia in there as a Peace Keeper Force? Isn't that what's kind of taking place with Syria?

mike dangerously
Israel would be the logical suspect here.But,let's take a look at the others who have gained from Arafat's death Hamas and perhaps his inner circle at the time. true, but who kills with polonium? Russia does, but what would they gain from Arafat's death?

LOL. Close enough. The article consistently and erroneously refers to the isotope 210 Po as 21°Po, which has half-life 138 days (decays into a much more stable lead isotope) and so the room for error in detection is quite large. But the switch from zero to the degree symbol by the writer of the article is curious. Perhaps he is trying to bring our attention to the name "Polonium" to figure out who garnished with it Arafat's meal. Following the change from ° to 0 - from small to large - one can accordingly adjust "Polonium" to "PoLOnium and figure out the meaning of PLO.

PLO = Palestine Liberation Organization?

Evidence does not prove Arafat poisoning: Russian report

www.reuters.com...

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Well, we know the Russians have a history of using Polonium to kill. If there was Polonium, would they really have any reason to be honest about it?

reply to post by Stormdancer777


And whether or not the assassination can be proven, doesn't change the fact that a large quantity of Polonium was found in his body. At the very least, doesn't this suggest an assassination attempt?

At the time some folks contended that this was indeed the case. If I recall, they are considered crack pot conspiracy theorists, Palestinian apologists or people who sought political gain. Something to consider, especially when it took nearly a decade to confirm there was an issue.

Now that there is confirmation, where are the nut jobs who said there was no issue? Oh, no one cares anymore.

Yeah, is anyone else shocked by the lack of public reaction to this news? We're talking about a political assassination here! Back in the 90s and early 00s, everybody who watched TV was familiar with Arafat, he was a major figure, he made the headlines countless times. Do people forget that fast? Unreal.

Cathcart
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

And whether or not the assassination can be proven, doesn't change the fact that a large quantity of Polonium was found in his body. At the very least, doesn't this suggest an assassination attempt?

Woah! Finding traces on his clothes doesn't equate to finding it in his body.

reply to post by Cathcart


Not really. I don't think very many people liked Arafat all that much, not even his own people. They say only Israel can be suspected, but realistically, they are just as likely to have bumped him off for their own gain.

ketsuko

Woah! Finding traces on his clothes doesn't equate to finding it in his body.

On his body, then, if you prefer. Still doesn't change the fact that there was Polonium on him.

ketsuko

Not really. I don't think very many people liked Arafat all that much, not even his own people. They say only Israel can be suspected, but realistically, they are just as likely to have bumped him off for their own gain.

Wether or not they liked him is beside the point. He was extremely well-known. Even hated celebrities get public attention.