The Arrest of Abnaa elBalad�s General Secretary Comrade Muhammad Kana�ane of the central committee�s member Comrade Husam Kana�ane
and editorial secretary of elJeel elJadeed magazine Comrade Sahar 'Abdu

Press Release - February 8, 2004

At 4:00 am Saturday morning, 7/2/2004, a big force of Israel�s police, border guards and security services invaded the home of Abnaa elBalad�s general secretary comrade Muhammad As�ad Kana�ane (Abu-As�ad) in the Gallilee township fo �Arabe. After intense search of the house, they confiscated the computer and documents belonging to the Abnaa elBalad movement and to �elBalad cultural association�. In the process of the search, they caused great intentional damage to the family�s belongings, the scared the small kids and even physically attacked Abu-As�ad's wife and children. They also searched and confiscated the cars of Comrades Muhammad Kana�ane and his brother, central committee member Comrade Husam Kana�ane, confiscated their cellular phones and ended by arresting the two comrades.

The same forces also attacked Abnaa elBalad�s center in �Arabe, broke the main door and the internal doors, confiscated the computer and some documents, after causing horror to the neighbors.

At the same time, another force of 10 civilian-wearing policemen and security service officers acted in the port city of Haifa, took political bureau member Yoav Bar from his home, and searched the Abnaa elBalad club and �elBalad cultural association� center. While in the center, they caused great damage to the place, breaking furniture, throwing books, magazines and documents on the ground and stamping on them. They scrapped posters from the walls, and stamped and jumped on the pictures of Palestinian victims of the Israeli occupation. They even poured garbage, oil and cleaning fluids on the piles of books and magazines on the ground. All that time they threatened comrade Bar with administrative arrest and expressed their deep desire to shoot him dead at the spot. After more than an hour the vandals went away, confiscating the computers, the archives and many documents.

At the same day, at about 19:00, Comrade Sahar 'Abdu, editorial secretary of elJeel elJadeed magazine, was arrested by the Israeli Police while on her way back from a visit in Jordan.

An hour later, at 20:00,at the court of 'Aka (Acre), the judge extended the arrest of comrades Abu-As'ad and Husam for ten days. They are not allowed to meet a lawyer, and all the evidence was kept "secret".

Abnaa elBalad is a legal political organization of the Palestinian masses inside the 48 territories. It acts to defend the daily rights of the Palestinian people against Zionist Racist oppression, and calls for a democratic solution to the Palestinian problem through the establishment of a democratic state in the whole of historic Palestine.

Abnaa elBalad calls on all democratic people and organizations around the world to protest Zionist vandalism and oppression, and call for the release of our comrades.

For more details: yoav_bar (at) mail.com

www.abnaa-elbald.org

You can see pictures of the vandalised center at:
www.abnaa-elbalad.org/taftish.jpg

or: www.deviantart.com/view/5147737/ (better resolution view)