Hawzah News Agency (Occupied Territories of Palestine) - Marking Palestinian Children's Day 2018, which coincides on Thursday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a report that according to the data released by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, out of 6,742 Palestinians detained by the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip in 2017, an estimated 1,467 were children under the age 18, constituting about 21.8% of the total number of detainees.

It said about 350 of them are still in detention deprived of their childhood, including continuing their studies, as well as being subjected to abuse during detention.

The PCBS said also that according to the records of the Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP), 15 children were killed by Israeli gunfire in 2017, including one child in the age group 9 to 12 years, three children in the age group 13 to 15 years, and 11 children in the age group 16 to 17 years.

DCIP's records also showed that six children were  shot dead by Israelis during January and February of 2018.

The PCBS press release said that based on the recent Population, Housing and Establishments Census 2017 report, the number of children under the age of 18 by the end of 2017 amounted to 2,115,370 children, or 45.3% of the total population.