Banksy's Walled Off Hotel in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem has closed amid Israel's ongoing assaults on Palestine, which have killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza and hundreds in the Occupied West Bank where the hotel is located. The three-star establishment houses Banksy artworks in its rooms and lobby and directly faces the illegal wall that has facilitated what many organizations describe as a system of apartheid in the region since its construction over two decades ago. Banksy has painted several works denouncing Israeli violence on the over 443-mile-long barrier, and the Walled Off Hotel boasts the self-proclaimed "worst view in the world."
"Due to major developments in the region we have with regret chosen to close the hotel for the time being," the hotel said in an Instagram statement. "We will post updates here as the situation evolves." Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus situated six miles south of Jerusalem, has long served as a pilgrimage destination. Tourists must pass through an Israeli military checkpoint to get to the city; Palestinians need a special permit to leave. Israel has continuously constructed settlements in the West Bank, and even before the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers, this year had proven the deadliest in history for the occupied territory, with at least 483 Palestinians killed there.
In 2006-2007 Banksy's work began selling at auction for many times its estimated value, with prices ranging from 25,000 GBP to over 102,000 GBP. On the second day of a multi-day auction, Banksy updated his website with an image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture that said, "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This sh*t."
In October 2018, Banksy's "Balloon Girl" was sold in an auction at Sotheby's in London for over one million BGP. After the gavel dropped and it was sold, an alarm sounded inside of the picture frame and the canvas passed through a shredder hidden within the frame, partially shredding the picture as the room full of shocked bidders and auctioneers looked on.
The event commanded wide news coverage around the world with one newspaper stating that it was "quite possibly the biggest prank in art history." Art experts suggested that this would likely increase the value of the painting, and the woman who won the bidding at the auction decided to go through with the purchase. In 2021 the work, in its partially shredded state, was reported to have been sold for over $25 million.
Banksy is also a philanthropist, and has donated works to support various causes including Greenpeace, the NGO Help Refugees (now called Choose Love), the Campaign Against Arms Trade, various charities working with the homeless, and hospitals, including one in Bethlehem. He also privately funded a rescue boat to save refugees at risk in the Mediterranean Sea.
Update Christmas Day 2023: Banksy's new anti-war artwork was stolen less than an hour after he authenticated it on Instagram, on December 22. Footage circulating online which shows two men removing the work (a stop sign onto which Banksy had painted three aircraft resembling the American MQ-9 Reaper drones, recently seen flying over Gaza) should make them easy to identify.
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