‘Scar of Bethlehem’.. Banksy unveils dark nativity in Bethlehem

Bethlehem (QNN)- Banky’s latest piece, his take on a nativity scene under Israel’s occupation in Palestine, has been unveiled at his hotel in Bethlehem.

The “Scar of Bethlehem” artwork features a nativity scene with Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. A manger scene juxtaposed against the Israeli apartheid wall that is seemingly pierced by a large bullet to form a hole in four directions to approximate the Christmas Star.

The piece has appeared in the Walled Off Hotel, Banksy’s property which overlooks the Israeli apartheid wall in the West Bank city.

“Love” and “peace” are respectively graffiti tagged in English and French on the artistic installation’s concrete blocks of the apartheid wall, while three large wrapped presents are at the forefront of the scene.

“It is a nativity,” the hotel’s manager Wissam Salsaa told AFP after the piece was installed. “Banksy has his own contribution to Christmas.”

“It is a great way to bring up the story of Bethlehem, the Christmas story, in a different way — to make people think more” of how Palestinians live in Bethlehem.

Salsaa described the Israeli apartheid wall as a scar that should induce “shame in anyone who supported” its construction.

The occupation state has started building the apartheid wall in 2012 on the West Bank land, swallowing hundreds of dunums.

Since 2007, Banksy has been using the wall to paint his anti-occupation artworks, including the well-known artwork of a little girl carried away by balloons.

Palestinian graffiti artists, too, have made the separation wall a place of political and artistic expression.

The identity of the world’s best known graffiti artist remains a mystery and he was not present during the revealing of his latest work.

“Banksy is trying to be a voice for those that cannot speak,” Salsaa said.

He “is creating a new model of resistance through art.”