UAE says Gaza man 'stranded' in Abu Dhabi Humanitarian City doesn't want to leave

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it looked after Alaa Alghamri for months – and has offered him help to get home

Alaa Alghamri pictured in his room at Abu Dhabi's Humanitarian City, a residential compound set up for hundreds of stranded travellers. He is one of the few to remain, by his own choice, the authoritiShow more

A Palestinian jobseeker who was stuck in travel limbo because of the coronavirus has been looked after for months in Abu Dhabi, a senior UAE official said.

Alaa Alghamri has spent five months in the capital's Humanitarian City, which was set up to look after stranded travellers.

The 26-year-old tried to fly home to Gaza via Egypt in March but was turned away at Cairo airport. He was put on a flight back to the Emirates, landing on March 19, just as the borders closed.

Mr Alghamri's situation came to light after Israeli media claimed the aspiring firefighter had been "locked up" and prevented from leaving.

Khalid Abdullah Humaid Belhoul, undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, said the claims were “misleading and baseless.”

"Alghamri entered the UAE on a tourist visa in December last year, but was in fact job-hunting. After being unable to find work, and with his visa expired," he told The National.

"Alghamri left the UAE to return home via Egypt, but was turned around at Cairo airport and sent back to the UAE.

“As Alghamri had no valid visa to re-enter the UAE, and the coronavirus pandemic had made further travel impossible, he was provided with free board and food at Abu Dhabi’s Humanitarian City, along with many other stranded travelers.

“At no time was Mr Alghamri detained against his will. He has always been free to leave, just as soon as there was a carrier available and a country who would take him.

“The UAE Government has since offered Alghamri the option of a flight to Cairo from Dubai, but Alghamri has refused the offer, saying he wanted to travel to Turkey.”

He said: “Mr Alghamri has been a guest of the UAE’s humanitarian aid for months yet he is not providing an accurate portrayal of his circumstances.

“The UAE has successfully repatriated hundreds of foreign nationals from around the world during Covid-19. However in this case, Mr Alghamri does not appear to wish to leave."

Speaking to The National from the Humanitarian City, Alghamri said his reason for giving the interview to Israeli media was to sway public opinion so that Israel would allow him to fly in through Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport, in the absence of any other alternative, as Egypt had closed its borders.

A request which was submitted to the Jerusalem District Court in its capacity as a court for administrative affairs, against the interior minister and the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories was rejected.

Palestinians are not allowed to fly from Ben Gurion Airport or any other airport in Israel. Prior to closing of the borders, Alghamri had flown to Dubai through Egypt via the Rafah crossing.

Alghamri has an uncle living in Dubai, Karem Odeh.

“I don’t want to go to my uncle,” he said. “I don’t want to be asking him or anyone for money.”

He also claimed he did not have the money to amend his visa status so he can remain in the UAE.

“I have looked for a job and was unsuccessful and right now all I want is to go back home. I am too scared to leave and start asking and borrowing money from people honestly. Here the government is taking care of me but if I leave [Humanitarian City] no one will know anything about me.”

The Israeli report in Haaretz, an English and Hebrew language newspaper, claimed that Alghamri is confined to a room in which the windows are shuttered and the door is locked most hours of the day.

He told The National this was not true.

"The windows are not shuttered and I can come and go as I please. Maybe if I was in my country I would not be treated so well," he said. "In my own house I also would not be living so comfortably but I want to go home," Alghamri said.

"The story was misreported. I don't know how they said I was confined," he said. "I committed no crime to be locked up. I just need a permit to be allowed into either Egypt or Israel."