Palestinian youth goes blind while in Israeli custody

The Palestinian Prisoners Society on Tuesday held the Israeli Prison Service responsible for a detained Palestinian youth losing his sight due to what it described as "medical neglect".

"Preliminary examinations of Hassan Tamimi, 18, at West Jerusalem's Shaare Tzedek hospital indicate that he has permanently lost sight in both his eyes," the prisoners society, an NGO that advocates for the rights of Palestinians detained by Israel, said in a statement.

"The loss of sight appears to have been the result of nerve damage -- in both eyes -- sustained due to medical neglect during his detention," the statement read.

According to the NGO, the Israel Prison Service dragged its feet in providing Tamimi with needed medical care -- despite having knowledge of his condition -- following his arrest in early April.

According to Palestinian statistics, some 6,400 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons.