Mask Images of Yasser Arafat as an Indicator of his Involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

The very name of Yasser Arafat is closely fused and inextricably intertwined with the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, within which he successfully changed his masks and social roles. It would be wrong to confine ourselves to a simple list of them, but it would also be impossible to ignore them. Arafat’s masks, each with unique features, are a kind of key to understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is very likely that Arafat’s mask-images, whose language often replaces the meaning of the words, are an indicator of his deep involvement (immersion) in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; his entire consciousness was permeated by it. Perhaps the circumstances of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict dictated his pathological and all-consuming passion for changing masks. Whatever the case, the masks, always of a mesmerizing nature, may provide some insight, perhaps in addition to the already familiar idea of Yasser Arafat, his theatricality. Without a critical approach to Arafat’s changing masks - unintentional or intentional - many false conclusions can be drawn. That is why it is so important to reveal the ambiguous nature of them.