A military court in the occupied West Bank has sentenced a Palestinian graduate student and prominent campus activist to 18 months in prison, adding another case to growing concerns over the prosecution of student figures under military rule.

Ahmad Hossam Khader, a postgraduate student at Birzeit University, was detained in April 2025 while travelling home from his studies to Balata refugee camp near Nablus. According to reports, he was stopped at a military checkpoint established specifically for his arrest before being transferred for interrogation.

The case centred on allegations of "incitement", a charge frequently used against Palestinian political and student activists. Following his detention, Khader faced a prolonged legal process marked by repeated postponements. Court hearings were delayed on ten separate occasions before the military court ultimately handed down its verdict, ordering him to serve 18 months in prison and pay a financial penalty of 2,000 shekels.

The ruling has drawn renewed attention to the treatment of Palestinian students and political activists within the military court system operating across the occupied territory. Human rights advocates have long argued that extended detention, repeated hearing delays and prosecutions linked to political expression continue to have a significant impact on academic life and civic participation amid the wider genocidal war and ongoing military occupation.