The number of Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons has soared over the past six months, including a growing number of girls, as a wave of stabbings, car-rammings and gun attacks by Palestinian militants has swept the country.

There were 438 Palestinian minors imprisoned for security-related offences in February 2016, up from 170 last September, according to Israel Prison Service figures quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz.

The figures came out as a 12-year-old Palestinian girl was released from prison on Sunday, the youngest female ever incarcerated in Israel.