Banksy opened a hotel with the "worst view in the world" — the wall between Israel and Palestine

British anonymous artist Banksy has opened the hotel Walled Off Hotel ("Walled Hotel") in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem on the border with Israel. The windows of each of the ten rooms overlook the Israeli separation barrier, erected to protect against possible attacks by Palestine. For the Palestinians themselves, this wall is considered a symbol of oppression and racism. The design of the hotel uses the works of Banksy and other artists, the official opening will take place on March 11.

According to the artist, the hotel was opened on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour approved the creation of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.

(18 photos in total)

Source: Daily Mail

The hotel was created secretly for the last 14 months. Banksy stated that the concept of the hotel is based on "English gentlemen's clubs from colonial times" and reflects the historical role that Britain played in the Middle East.

Banksy

According to Banksy, the hotel offers a warm welcome to people from both sides of the conflict and from all over the world. His work is funded by the artist himself. Manager Wissam Salsa said he hopes to support the tourism that already exists in this area: "I hope that we will provide millions of dollars to the economy of Bethlehem." Now the law prohibits residents of Israel from visiting Palestinian cities.

The doorman at the entrance to the hotel.

The hotel is different from the usual tourist places: there are statues on pedestals that are suffocating from tear gas, cherubs in oxygen masks hang on the ceiling, and paintings of refugees washed ashore in life jackets are hung on the walls.

One of the walls is decorated with drone models and a portrait of Jesus with a sniper scope on his forehead.

In the "Banksy room" there is graffiti on which an Israeli and a Palestinian are fighting with pillows.

A hotel employee in the bar area.

A hotel waiter against the background of Banksy's work. The building houses an art gallery with works on political topics, as well as interactive exhibitions dedicated exclusively to the Israeli barrier.

One of Banksy's works on the wall.

The "worst view in the world" on the wall.

The cheapest hotel room will cost $30 per night. Because of the wall, the sun illuminates the hotel rooms for only 25 minutes a day.

The bar is decorated with surveillance cameras and slingshots.

Presidential hotel room.

The bedroom of the presidential suite.

Gavin Grindon from the University of Essex created the museum together with Banksy. The signing of the Balfour Declaration is recreated in the background.

Banksy is a British anonymous artist whose satirical works on the theme of war, inequality, child labor, covert surveillance are known all over the world. The total value of his works sold at auctions is $ 1.8 million. There are already several of his works on the wall, including a girl with balloons.

In 2016, he allegedly infiltrated the Gaza Strip and painted four graffiti, including the Greek goddess Niobe on a door surrounded by the rubble of an apartment building.

Another work of the artist is located on a dilapidated concrete wall. According to Banksy's website, when a local resident asked the artist to explain what it means, he replied: "I wanted to tell about the horrors that are happening in the Gaza Strip, but people on the Internet only look at pictures of kittens."

The Fenced—off Hotel is Banksy's largest project after the Depressive Disneyland theme park in the resort town of Weston-super-Mare, opened in 2015. Park workers held balloons with the inscription "I'm a jerk", and a boat full of refugees floated in the pond.