Banksy hotel: West Bank guesthouse opens in Bethlehem offering 'worst view in the world'

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Francesca Gillett3 March 2017

Graffiti artist Banksy has opened a hotel with “the worst views in the world” in the West Bank.

“The Walled Off Hotel” in Bethlehem was unveiled in a surprise announcement on Friday.

Rooms at the guesthouse, which overlooks the West Bank separation barrier, will be available to book from March 11.

The venture has been termed a hotel, protest and art all in one from artist Banksy whose work has previously aimed to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, the Guardian reported.

Banksy's The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem.
AFP/Getty Images

A preview of the hotel unveiled to journalists on Friday showed the nine rooms – the cheapest of which costs $30, or around £24 a night – decorated with the artist’s satirical work.

One room, nicknamed “Banksy’s room”, features a king-sized bed with artwork showing a Palestinian and Israeli in a pillow fight above the bed. The hotel also features a presidential suite and a museum.

The aim is to bring visitors to the historic city of Bethlehem, whose economy has suffered since war damaged its tourism economy.

Banksy’s latest venture follows Dismaland, a sinister amusement park which was opened in Weston-super-Mare in 2015.

The Banksy hotel boasts 'the worst view in the world'. 
AFP/Getty Images

In the past Banksy, whose identity remains shrouded in mystery, has decorated the West Bank separation barrier with pieces of artwork including a painting of a girl pulled upward by balloons.

Last year, he is believed to have sneaked into Gaza to draw four street murals, including one on a metal door that depicted the Greek goddess Niobe cowering against the rubble of a destroyed house.

The artist's satirical stencils - rats, kissing policemen, riot police with yellow smiley faces - first appeared on walls in Bristol before spreading to London and then around the world.

His artwork comments on war, child poverty and the environment.

Additional reporting by AP.

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