It’s a hotel that bears the hallmarks of the land where it exists. Nestled against a huge concrete wall Israel has built that in some places cuts deep into the occupied West Bank, the Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem offers the guests the “world’s worst view”. All 10 rooms in the three-storey hotel, located hardly 3 km away from the famous Church of the Nativity, face the concrete slabs of the wall. Inside the hotel, there’s a café which is decorated with original artwork by British street artist Banksy and a small museum that explains the history of the wall — declared illegal by the International Court of Justice.
When it was opened to guests in March last year, the hotel made news because of its association with Banksy, who keeps his real identity a secret. “Nobody knew that Banksy was involved in the project, until the opening day. On the opening day, we invited people to this hotel and it was a big surprise to every one,” said Wissam Salsaa, the manager of Walled Off, welcoming the visiting Indian journalists.
Mr. Salsaa said it was originally a residential building, vacated in 2000 in the wake of the second intifada which saw violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces. During the intifada, Israel started building the wall which it said was necessary to prevent “terrorist attacks” on Israelis.
“This building [was] left vacant for 14 years,” said Mr. Salsaa. “Nobody was interested to live here because of the clashes, because of the wall,” he added. “I rented the building and renovated its interiors, of course, with coordination with Banksy. It took me one year and three months to finish this project,” said Mr. Salsaa. “The view from this hotel is the view of occupation. The view of apartheid.”
The Waldorf of West Bank
And why the name ‘Walled Off’? Mr. Salsaa smiled at the question. “Banksy gave [it] the name. It’s a pun on Waldorf,” he said, referring to Waldorf Astoria, the global luxury hotel chain. Banksy, who first made headlines for his graffiti on the walls of Bristol, England, and whose works have been auctioned for more than $1 million, has been frequently travelling to the Palestinian territories for over a decade, according to Mr. Salsaa.
Much before the hotel was opened, Banksy’s paintings on the wall that depicted life under the Israeli occupation became a tourist attraction. The artwork placed in the lobby and in the rooms of Walled Off signifies the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The museum has a wax statue of Sir Arthur Balfour, the former British Foreign Secretary who issued the eponymous declaration more than a century ago that said that imperial Britain would support the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In one of the rooms, a mural on the wall shows an Israeli soldier in military fatigues and a Palestinian wearing a keffiyeh fighting with pillows. In the café, where weekly concerts happen, three cherubs hang above a piano, but all with oxygen masks. “(It’s) a three-storey cure for fanaticism, with limited car parking,” Banksy said in a statement last year when the hotel was opened.
The staff at the hotel say they are not political activists but Palestinians with a political view. “I am a musician. We are not political. We are independent people. We send our message through music and art,” said one staffer, who did not want to be named as “Wissam [Salsaa] is the only guy who can talk to the media”. What is the message they are sending from Walled Off? “Give us freedom. End the occupation. There are too many restrictions in Palestine.”
(Stanly Johny works for The Hindu and was recently in Palestine)
