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JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday detained an 8-year-old Palestinian in occupied East Jerusalem, witnesses told Ma'an.
Witnesses said Israeli forces detained the child, who was about to enter a market near the Flowers Gate of the Old City, and took him to a nearby Israeli police station.

An Israeli police spokesperson could not be contacted, and the reason for the detention is unknown.

Since the start of October, Israeli forces have detained at least 2,044 Palestinians, 345 of which have been children, according to documentation by human rights group Addameer.

Rights group Defense for Children International-Palestine found in July that in the first half of 2014, "86 percent of Palestinian children experienced some form of physical violence during their arrest or interrogation."

The group added: "Ill treatment of Palestinian children remains widespread and systematic in the Israeli military detention system as children arrested by Israeli forces arrive at Israeli interrogation centers blindfolded, bound and sleep deprived."