Banksy’s art in a new West Bank hotel features the world’s ‘worst view’

Reporting from BETHLEHEM, West Bank —  A Palestinian guesthouse packed with artwork of the elusive British graffiti artist Banksy unveiled itself Friday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, with a sneak peek of what the owner sarcastically called the “hotel with the worst view in the world.”

Wisam Salsaa, 42, said the nine-room establishment named “The Walled Off Hotel” will officially open March 11, but he offered a handful of reporters a tour of the hotel looking directly at the West Bank separation barrier erected by Israel to ward off potential Palestinian attackers. The barrier, which Palestinians consider to be a land grab that stifles their movement, is heavily decorated by artists, and Banksy has previously painted several murals on a walled segment of it.

The hotel, several of whose rooms look onto an Israeli security watchtower, is awash in the trademark satirical work of the mysterious artist. The highlight is Room 3, known as “Banksy’s Room,” where guests sleep in a king-size bed underneath Banksy’s artwork showing a Palestinian and an Israeli in a pillow fight.

The hotel also features a presidential suite and a museum with the artist’s politically charged work. It has the markings of a gentleman’s club from the English colonial period. The entrance to one small niche accommodates a life-size figure of Arthur James Balfour signing his 1917 letter that came to be known as the Balfour declaration and was the basis for the international push for the creation of Israel.

Rooms were available from $30 a night.

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Youths practice their Parkour skills near a mural said to have been painted by British street artist Banksy in conflict-ravaged Beit Hanoun.   (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images)

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A woman walks past “The Death of Euro” by street artist Goin in Athens on Feb. 20 2015 as Germany and Greece were set to face off in a meeting in search of a last-minute bailout compromise.  (Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images)

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A mural by an unidentified artist in Manila. Jan. 26, 2015.   (Noel Celis / AFP/Getty Images)

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A mural by Colombian artist Bastardilla in Mexico City. The piece is his statement on the 43 university students who went missing in Iguala last year. March 4, 2015.   (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

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A woman walks past a mural of children using an Israeli army watch tower as a swing ride, said to have been painted in Beit Hanoun by British street artist Banksy. Feb. 26, 2015.   (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images)

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Peruvian artist Carlos Atoche works on his untitled mural along the wall of an abandoned Italian air force barracks in Rome. Feb. 25, 2015.   (Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)

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A mural in Cairo by an unknown artist. It depicts soccer fans who were killed following a match. Feb. 9, 2012.   (Nasser Nasser / Associated Press)

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A mural of a crying child who is served a soccer ball to appease his hunger. It was created in Sao Paulo by Brazilian street artist Paulo Ito as a statement about the money spent hosting the 2014 World Cup. June 5, 2014  (Miguel Tovar / Getty Images)

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A child walks near a mural of a crying figure, said to have been painted by British street artist Banksy. The door stands in rubble left by the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas. Feb. 28, 2015.   (Mohammed Saber / EPA)

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A mural at the West Hollywood Library by artist Kenny Scharf. Sept. 28, 2011.   (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The whole project took 14 months to complete and was kept secret in accordance with Banksy’s request to protect his anonymity. Salsaa said the entire interior was personally overseen by Banksy, to the very last details. The hotel is the largest new body of work in years, according to a news release distributed by representatives who attended Friday’s tour.

Banksy has made previous forays into the Palestinian territories. In one secret visit, he drew a painting of a girl pulled upward by balloons on the barrier facing his current project. 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 painting, titled “Bomb Damage,” was drawn on the last remaining part of a two-story house that was destroyed in the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

The artist’s satirical stencils — rats, kissing police officers, riot police with yellow smiley faces — first appeared on walls in Bristol, England, before spreading to London and then around the world. His artwork comments on war, child poverty and the environment. His identity remains a mystery, but his works have fetched as much as $1.8 million at auctions.