Israel Jailed a 17-Year-Old for Mourning Her Brother
Nada Iyad Bani Odeh is 17 years old and the youngest female prisoner in Damon prison. Before Israeli forces arrested her from her home in February 2026, she ranked first in her class. The charge: “incitement” on social media. She had posted about her dead brother.
Nada is from Tammon, a town in Tubas governorate. The occupation took her brother first. Then it took her.
On May 15, 2025, Israeli forces surrounded 19-year-old Wadee Iyad Bani Odeh and four other young men inside a house, then hit it with shells and live fire. All five were killed. The army took Wadee’s body and has not returned it. His family has not been allowed to bury him. They are still fighting for that right.
Wadee was in his first semester at university, studying dental technology. Nada had promised him she would finish at the top of their governorate, the top of the country, in the Tawjihi, Palestine’s high school matriculation exams. She was first in her branch in the first semester of the literary track.
She never finished the second.
After his killing, she wrote about him on social media. Mourned him one day, missed him the next, addressed him as if he were still alive. The occupation called it a crime. On February 12, 2026, soldiers came to her home and took her on charges of incitement.
“This year there is no Tawjihi,” the arresting officer told her.
She spent four days at the illegal settlement of Ariel before she was moved to Damon prison.
Her mother tells the story:
“Nada is a Tawjihi student, literary branch. First in her branch in the first semester. She didn’t finish the second semester. They took her prisoner. She dreamed of being first in her governorate. Today she is the youngest prisoner in the prisons.”
The whole school misses her, from the principal to her classmates. Her family describes her as quiet, someone whose presence commands respect. For her mother, Nada was who held the household together after Wadee, her only son, was killed. Now both parents wait, her mother for news, her father for patience he cannot find.
Eight court hearings so far. The ninth is next Wednesday. Each time, her family fights to bring her home from Damon. Each time, the court sends her back.
The anniversary of Wadee’s killing falls in May. Nada will not be with her mother. Wadee’s body will not be there either. There is no grave to mourn at. The occupation took that from them too.
Nada is the eldest of her sisters and one of three minor girls held in occupation prisons. Damon holds 90 female Palestinian prisoners. Across all Israeli facilities, 350 Palestinian children are in detention.
She is 17. She should be sitting her Tawjihi.
