News Digest

Street artist Banksy goes undercover to make Gaza ‘travel advert’

Banksy has released a video of a satirical travel advert for Gaza after travelling to the area undercover. The film, posted on the elusive artist’s website, appears to show him entering through one of the underground tunnels carrying cans of spray paint. ”Make this the year you discover a new destination,” it says before showing the extensive bomb damage in the region. After footage from a drone strike is shown, the film goes on to say: “Development opportunities are everywhere.” The graffiti artist used his anonymity to create pieces of art on some of the rubble, including a stencil of children swinging from a surveillance tower.

Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open air prison’ because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost every day.

Caption from the film

Alongside a photo of a mural of a kitten wearing a pink bow, Banksy writes: “A local man came up and said ‘Please - what does this mean?’ ”I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website - but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens.” The film ends with the message: “If we wash our hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless we side with the powerful - we don’t remain neutral.”