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RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces injured three Palestinian children with live fire during severe clashes that erupted between soldiers and school students in the Jabal al-Tawil neighborhood of al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank Thursday, witnesses said.

The injured children were taken to a hospital for treatment, while Israeli forces detained six Palestinian children, all under 10 years of age, and took them to the nearby Psagot settlement, locals told Ma'an.

Israeli forces had reportedly set up an ambush for the students prior to the clashes, locals added.

An Israeli army spokeswoman did not have immediate information but told Ma'an she was looking into the incident.

Palestinian children routinely come under live fire and excessive force from Israeli forces, according to children's rights group Defense for Children International- Palestine.

Israeli forces shot and injured at least 30 children across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year as of March 24, 2015, DCIP reported.

While Israeli military regulation permits the use of live ammunition when a direct mortal threat exists, the DCIP found no evidence that any of the children injured in 2015 thus far posed such a threat to Israeli forces or settlers.

Israeli military courts rarely prosecute members of Israeli forces in such cases, leading to what rights groups argue a culture of impunity that enables incidents like Thursday's injuries.

From 2000-2012, only 117 of 2,207 investigations opened by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division were indicted, about 5 percent of the total files opened, according to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour sent an open letter to the UN Security Council earlier this month demanding that Israel be brought to justice over violations and abuse against Palestinian children.