Prisoner strike secures eye surgery for inmate

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A successful prisoners strike saw a Palestinian detainee in Israel receive eye surgery, which friends and relatives said was long overdue, Hussam Detainees' Center said.

Sufian Al-Zibda, from Gaza City, had an operation on his left retina at the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, the center said.

A prison doctor had reportedly said the detainee needed urgent surgery but Israel's Prison Service had refused to allow his treatment.

Prisoners launched a strike in protest of the decision.

Al-Zibda was detained in 2010 by Israeli forces at the Erez crossing, as he tried to leave Gaza to go to the West Bank. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.