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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained three Palestinian brothers late Wednesday at a checkpoint near the settlement of Haggay, south of Hebron, and took them into custody, witnesses told Ma'an.

The three boys - Muttaz, 17, Muhannad, 15, and Zein al-Din al-Abedin, 12 - are the sons of Azmi al-Shyoukhi, secretary-general of the popular committee against the wall and settlements, witnesses said.

Israeli forces claimed that the boys were in possession of knives, locals added.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli army confirmed that three Palestinians were detained at the checkpoint and taken into custody for interrogation.

"As far as I know, none of them were minors," she said.

She added that, to her knowledge, there were no weapons involved, but that one of the Palestinians "physically assaulted" a soldier.

A report published by UNICEF in March said Israel was the only country in the world where children were systematically tried in military courts and gave evidence of practices it said were "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."

Over the past decade, Israeli forces have arrested, interrogated and prosecuted around 7,000 children between 12 and 17, mostly boys, UNICEF found, noting the rate was equivalent to "an average of two children each day."