Banksy scam: Gaza man 'conned' into selling famed street artist's latest mural for £118

A Palestinian man has revealed that he was duped into selling a valuable mural by mysterious street artist Banksy for less than £120.

Rabie Darduna told the BBC he was approached by a man pretending to be one of the artists' representatives and accepted just 700 shekels (£118) for the politically charged image drawn on the only remaining door of his house in Gaza.

Bristol-born Banksy is said to have used the rubble as settings for his art during his visit to Gaza in February. The image, which depicts a Greek goddess, is estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Darduna said that if had been aware of the value, he would never had gone through with the deal. "I did not know that it was this valuable. I heard it can be sold for millions," Dardouna said. "Now I want the door back."

But Belal Khaled, the man who brought the door, defended his actions, insisting that he simply wanted to protect the painting and had no intention of profiting.

"I bought the painting to protect its artistic value and preserve it from damage," Khaled told the Associated Press. "Another reason is to display it in other places as well. I don't have any monetary interest in this."

Banksy has created a handful of works in in the region in a bid to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians.

On his website, Banksy explained the message behind a painting of a kitten and of children swinging from a military watchtower, writing: "A local man came up to me 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."

His publicist, Jo Brooks, said that he entered Gaza via "a network of tunnels" from Egypt for his latest visit.

Khaled, who denies tricking Darduna, is now seeking clearance to showcase the mural in Gaza art exhibitions.