Sameh Maraaba
# Sameh Maraaba

Sameh Maraaba (born 19 March 1992) is a Palestinian association footballer who currently plays for Jabal Al-Mukaber as a forward in the West Bank Premier League, and for the Palestine national team.

## Career

Maraaba made his professional international debut for Palestine in 2015 during Second round World Cup qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia. The very next game, against Malaysia he scored twice, in Palestine's 6-0 surprise routing.

### International goals

    Scores and results list Palestine's goal tally first.

| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. | 16 May 2015 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Malaysia | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 16 May 2015 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Malaysia | 4–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 7 June 2017 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain | Bahrain | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4. | 10 October 2017 | Dora International Stadium, Hebron, Palestine | Bhutan | 4–0 | 10–0 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 5. | 14 November 2017 | Arab American University Stadium, Jenin, Palestine | Maldives | 3–0 | 8–1 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 6. | 14 November 2017 | Arab American University Stadium, Jenin, Palestine | Maldives | 5–1 | 8–1 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 7. | 14 November 2017 | Arab American University Stadium, Jenin, Palestine | Maldives | 6–1 | 8–1 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 8. | 14 November 2017 | Arab American University Stadium, Jenin, Palestine | Maldives | 8–1 | 8–1 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 9. | 10 October 2018 | Cox's Bazar Stadium, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh | Bangladesh | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 Bangabandhu Cup |
| 10. | 16 December 2018 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | Pakistan | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 11. | 25 January 2020 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Burundi | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2020 Bangabandhu Cup |
| 12. | 18 January 2021 | Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait | Kuwait | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |

## Personal life

Maraaba would have made his debut for Palestine a lot sooner, however he was embroiled within the political turmoil that surrounds Palestine as a nation. Maraaba was arrested by the Israeli Defence Force on 28 April 2014 at the border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank as he returned from a training camp in Qatar. A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed they had "concrete information that he was carrying, or was involved in the potential transfer of communication equipment and finance on behalf of Hamas". Maraaba denied the claims, with the Palestinian Football Association claiming that he had been "carrying money back to his football club which had been given to him by an ex-colleague of the club who had previously been jailed by Israel as a member of Hamas". As a result, Maraaba was detained for a period of 7 months, resulting in him missing Palestine's 2014 AFC Challenge Cup campaign (in which Palestine would ultimately win, qualifying for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in the process), the 2014 Asian Games (in which Palestine made the Round of 16), and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia.

