Gaza comedians remake viral Jean-Claude Van Damme video to highlight fuel shortages

A group of young Palestinian filmmakers remade a viral Volvo commercial to raise awareness of their region’s lack of access to fuel and electric power. In the original commercial, Belgian action star Jean-Claude Van Damme stands atop two Volvo semi trucks, and slowly does the splits as the vehicles inch away from each other while traveling backwards — a stunt designed to show off Volvo’s new computer-controlled steering system. The Palestinian spoof, made by comedy troupe Tashwesh productions, shows a man standing atop two Kia cars which are being pushed by several other men, while a narrator describes energy and resource hardships in Gaza. The group’s video, released last week, has garnered more than 390,000 views.

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007 in an effort to reduce the flow of weapons into the region.