Israel detained 1,266 Palestinian children in 2014: Official

Israeli forces detained 1,266 Palestinian children under the age of 15 in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2014.

The children were arrested in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem over the course of 2014, Press TV quoted Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, the head of the Palestinian Detainees Committee, as saying in a statement Tuesday.

"The vast majority of these arrests occurred in the second half of the year," Ferwana said.

He added that some 200 out of the 1,266 detained children still remain in Israeli jails.

"The children testified that they had been subjected to various forms of torture and deprived of their basic rights," Ferwana said.

The official further called upon international organisations to intervene and "protect the children from detention and torture".

"Latest statistics indicate that the current number of (Palestinian) detainees is 6,500, held in 18 (Israeli) prisons, detention camps and interrogation centres," Ferwana had said Dec 24.

He added, "Two hundred of them are children. Twenty one are women, and nearly 500 are held under administrative detention without charges or trial."

The Palestinian official added that the arrests and imprisonments had been carried out in "revenge" and retaliation against a civilian population.

About 4,000 Palestinians have been detained since June, when three Israeli settlers disappeared and their bodies were found afterwards.

He added that 31 of the detainees have been in prison for more than 20 years, while 16 have been in jail for over 25 years. Also, 478 detainees are serving life term.