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UAE based climber Ali Bushnaq has aborted his attempt to climb Mount Everest after coming down with pneumonia at around 7,000m. The Palestinian, who set off for a final push at the summit on Sunday, was also suffering dizzy spells before making the decision to turn back. Ali has been climbing with two Israelis - Micha Yaniv and David "Dudu" Yifrah - as part of a peace project. These two will now go on to attempt to conquer the mountain. After the long trek back to Advanced Base Camp, Ali was checked out by a doctor who gave him the all clear but said that he should not make another attempt to reach the top. "I?m sorry it didn?t happen the way we wanted but this is life", said Ali, who will now wait at advanced base camp to celebrate with the rest of the team after their descent.
"I love my family my wife my kids and I?d like to come back to them safely. I would like to thank all the people who supported me so far. In particular Gulf News who did a great job of supporting the expedition," said Ali. Everest Peace Project leader Lance Trumball, said that Ali had already achieved a lot and that the friendship struck up between a Palestinian and two Israelis meant the trip had been a success. He said: "The most touching part of this whole afternoon was when Micha called from the North Col from his radio. He did not hear the news that Ali turned around and would not be joining them on their summit attempt. When Ali answered the radio call Micha was shocked - and when hearing the bad news, he started to cry over the radio. "Ali has a lot to be proud of as he had accomplished a great deal. Just being a Palestinian man willing to climb with two Israeli men is something unusual and noteworthy, not to mention the fact that Ali climbed higher than any other Palestinian person, reaching beyond the altitude of 7,000m (23,000 feet). "But perhaps most importantly, Ali has served as an inspiration to people across the world - showing that in an atmosphere of peace and through teamwork and friendship anything can be accomplished."
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