95 percent of Palestinian child detainees 'beaten up' in Israeli prison

Ninety-five percent of Palestinian children held at an Israeli prison have been beaten severely by security forces, the Palestinian Authority has said.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that virtually all of the Palestinian children that have been held at the notorious Ofer prison in the West Bank have been assaulted by Israeli authorities.

The commission said that soldiers abuse young prisoners in what it called a "systematic and daily routine".

"Children are being brutally assaulted with blows to their bodies, stompings and strikes from rifle butts as well as being insulted, threatened and being exposed to stress," the statement read.

Louay Akeh, a lawyer for the commission, said that one 17-year-old prisoner from Ramallah was recently wounded in the arm after being beaten by soldiers while in custody.

Akeh added that there has been a noticeable increase to steep fines imposed on child prisoners.

There are currently 6,279 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including more than 300 child detainees, according to Jerusalem-based prisoner rights group Addameer.

Rights groups have regularly expressed concern at Israel's mistreatment of Palestinian children.