The Palestine Section of Defence for Children International has claimed that Israeli occupation forces target children during actions against Palestinian civilians. DCI-Pal said in a statement that the Israeli authorities have detained large numbers of Palestinians and that around 90% of Palestinian children (that is, those under the age of 18) detained by Israel have been subjected to torture in various forms. DCI's Legal Unit Coordinator, Iyad Misk, said, "Every year, the Israelis put around 700 children from the West Bank on trial in military courts."

The organisation said that Israel detained around 1,000 Palestinian children in 2010, mainly in Occupied Jerusalem and areas adjacent to the Separation Wall; around 213 minors were still in detention at the end of the year. Figures up to the end of March 2011 show that there are 226 Palestinian children in Israeli prisons.