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| Sameh (L) being welcomed by his brother |
The Israeli Defense Forces have freed national team and Islami Qalqilya forward Sameh Mar’aba eight months after illegally detaining him. The promising young player was released from military detention just north of Nablus after an eight month detention which saw his 30-day term renewed eight times.
Mar’aba’s family has decorated the streets of the town of Qalqilya to celebrate their son’s return. Mara’aba was originally arrested upon his return from a national team training camp in Qatar at the Karameh border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan.
His arrest on the 28th of April prevented him from traveling with the team to the Maldives for the 2014 Challenge Cup and has also cost him a spot at the 2014 Asian Games and 2015 Asian Cup.
