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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police released three Palestinian children from the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem late Thursday after detaining and interrogating them for allegedly throwing rocks at an Israeli settler.

The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center said that a private security guard protecting an Israeli settler detained the three children from the al-Ein area in Silwan before calling the police, who took them to a police station on Salah al-Din street in Jerusalem.

The detainees were identified as Ahmad Izz Shweiki, 10, Tamer Mazen Shweiki, 12, and Nidal al-Rajabi, 13.

Israeli forces reportedly held the children and interrogated them without an escort or lawyer. Their parents were allowed into the police station four hours later.

The Israeli investigator allegedly shouted at and intimidated the three during the interrogation in efforts to force the children to admit to throwing rocks, the center said, adding that the children reported that they were prevented from drinking water or using the restrooms for several hours during interrogation.

Ahmad Izz Shweiki told the center that during interrogation he was offered a cigarette by the investigator, but he refused.

The children requested to see video footage that Israeli authorities told them proved their "crime," but were not given access to the footage and were later forced to sign an “interrogation paper written in Hebrew."

The two Shweiki children were released without conditions while al-Rajabi signed a third-party bail.

According to Israeli law, when a child is detained their parents should be informed immediately and given a copy of the detention order and location of the detention, according to a lawyer at the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

The lawyer told Ma'an that Israeli authorities violated Israeli laws through the detention and interrogation of children, who should not have been interrogated without informing a social worker, taking legal consultation of a lawyer, in addition to ensuring video coverage of the interrogation.

After the children were released, the families said that an Israeli settler blocked their entrance into the al-Ein area, claiming they were throwing rocks.

While the children denied the allegation, the settler told them that there was video footage and threatened to transfer them to the social affairs center and prevent them from seeing their parents.

An Israeli police spokesperson did not immediately respond for comment.

Thursday's altercation marks ongoing tensions between local Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the Silwan neighborhood.

Silwan, along with the rest of East Jerusalem, was annexed by Israel in 1967, a move considered illegal by international law and widely condemned by the international community.

Israeli settlers began moving to the Palestinian neighborhood in 1991 with the assistance of the Ir David Foundation (Elad), a non-profit group that facilitates the purchase and takeover of Palestinian homes in the Old City and occupied East Jerusalem in order increase Jewish settlement.

The security guard who allegedly reported the three children to the Israeli police Thursday is one of several guards privately-contracted by the Israeli Ministry of Housing to protect Jewish residents who illegally reside in the occupied area.

The private guards work in cooperation with Israeli police and military and protect settlers at the expense of the safety of local Palestinians and their ability to live normal lives, according to the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, who has documented extensive abuse of power by private guards on local Palestinians.

Israeli news source Haaretz reported that the amount of government funds allocated to security for settlers in East Jerusalem had reached an all time high of 100 million shekels ($26m) in 2014.

Last month, several Palestinian homes in Silwan were demolished by Israeli forces, while Israeli settler organization Ateret Cohanim took over a Palestinian building comprising three apartments. The settlers were reportedly escorted into the building in the middle of the night by private security forces.

The building was the former property of Palestinian family Abu Nab, while Ateret Cohanim claims it as Yemenite Jewish property prior to 1948.