Teenage Palestinian girls held in Israeli prison have their futures put on hold

Teenage Palestinian girls held in Israeli prison have their futures put on hold Submitted by Mojahid Nawahda on Thu, 07/09/2026 - 10:06 Abusive conditions, poor food and lack of sanitary products are life for the hundreds of Palestinian minors held in Israeli custody Family of Nada Bani Odeh hold their imprisoned daughter's possessions (Mojahid Nawahda/MEE) Off As thousands of Palestinian students complete their final high school exams this summer and look ahead to university, 17-year-old Nada Bani Odeh and 16-year-old Ola Qutaishat are spending these same weeks behind bars in Israel’s Damon Prison, far from classrooms, textbooks and the futures they had been preparing for. Nada was due to sit the Palestinian secondary school examinations, known as "tawjihi", this year, while Ola had just finished the 11th grade and was preparing for her final year of school. Instead, the two girls - among the youngest Palestinian female prisoners - now face repeated court hearings after being arrested in separate cases over social media posts.