BEIT OMAR: Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention have been subjected to "widespread, systematic and institutionalised" abuse, a UNICEF report has found.

The common experience of many children, it found, was being aggressively woken in the middle of the night by armed soldiers and brought to an interrogation centre tied and blindfolded. Sleep-deprived and in a state of extreme fear, few are informed of their right to legal counsel, the report found.

Detained at night ... Sayyed Awad (centre) with his mother Bushra Omar Awad and father Mohamed Mahmoud Awad in Beit Omar. Credit:Ruth Pollard

"The interrogation mixes intimidation, threats and physical violence, with the clear purpose of forcing the child to confess," it said.

"Children have been threatened with death, physical violence, solitary confinement and sexual assault, against themselves or a family member," it said.