Odeh has said that she was born in [[Lifta]] in 1948, but that her family left for [[Ramallah]] when she was a month old. Her father Yousef emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, leaving his wife, son, and 5 daughters in Ramallah.{{Efn|In ''Women in Struggle'' (2004) at 24:16, Odeh says that she has no childhood memories of her father.}} She began attending [[Communism|communist]] meetings at the age of 12, joining the [[Arab Nationalist Movement]] at 13. Her father returned in 1967 after breaking his leg in a work accident. She "became convinced that military action was more important than social or political work" after the [[Six-Day War]], throwing stones at Israelis and training to fire guns.<ref name=":0" />