WALLED OFF

Banksy Opens Hotel on Bethlehem Barrier Wall

Hotel, protest, and art all at once.

Notorious British street artist Banksy has opened a hotel in Bethlehem against the barrier wall separating the Palestinian territories from Israel. The Walled Off Hotel is made up of 10 rooms, with politically themed art on nearly every wall. The hotel was opened to the media Friday, and it is reportedly aimed at bringing tourists and jobs to an area that has been left desolate by the conflict. It will be available for bookings this month through the website, The Guardian reports. Banksy, who tends to avoid comment on his work, left a message spray-painted onto a wall: “If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful—we don’t remain neutral.”