The anonymous UK-based street artist, known as Banksy, has been grabbing headlines for the past week. This time for his recent artwork that was posted to his Instagram.
Earlier, he played an audacious prank by putting his artwork in a self-shredding frame that it shredded itself after it was sold in an auction for around $1 million.
This time, Banksy, who is known for his pro-Palestine activism, is facing a backlash and outrage in Israel for the latest poster he advertised on his Instagram.
The poster shows children playing on a swing ride around a watchtower with a slogan that reads: "Visit historic Palestine, the Israeli army liked it so much they never left!".
The poster called: “Free Palestine” was believed to encourage tourism in Palestine. It was first revealed on the artist's Instagram account where he advised fans to visit the World Travel Market at London’s Excel event centre where 1000 copies of the poster will be handed out.
The poster has sparked mixed reactions between Palestinians and Israelis. Among them were the Israeli billionaire and art collecter Batia Ofer who slammed the artist’s poster as 'disgraceful'.
The wife of London-based billionaire Idan Ofer also said that the depiction of Israel’s presence in Palestine is an “anti-Semitic” and similar to Nazi propaganda in the 1930s.
While Banksy did not respond to her, some Israelis went to share an edited photoshopped version of Banksy’s poster that has a different pro-Israel logo.
This comes few days after Banksy announced he will open his first stall ever at the London trade fair. He announced bringing a replica of his art-piece of the West Bank’s Separation Wall to be shown at the Palestinian booth.
Banksy, the street artist and pro-Palestine advocate has been known for famous artwork in Palestine on the Separation Wall in the West Bank. Earlier in 2017, he had opened “Walled Off Hotel” in the West Bank that was advertised with slogan: “The worst view in the world."
The hotel rooms come with a view on the Separation Wall.
