Ramallah, January 15 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have arrested at least 18 Palestinians during an overnight raid on a number of houses in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said military trucks and jeeps rolled into the town of Beit Ummar, located eleven kilometers northwest of Hebron, early on Wednesday.

The Israeli soldiers broke into dozens of homes and violently searched them, causing excessive property damage, before detaining the 18 Palestinians. The Israeli forces also reportedly smashed the windows of several Palestinian cars during the invasion, and clashed with local youths who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the Israeli military vehicles.

Israeli troopers fired gas bombs, rubber-coated metal bullets and rounds of live ammunition to disperse the Palestinians trying to keep the Israeli troops away from their homes. Five people, including a young woman, were shot and injured by rubber-coated metal bullets.

During recent months, Israeli forces have frequently raided Palestinians' homes in the West Bank, arresting dozens of Palestinian people, who are then transferred to Israeli detention centers where they are kept without any charges brought up against them. There have been many reports about the deteriorating health of several Palestinian prisoners held inside Israeli jails.

The Palestinian Authority Department of Prisoners Affairs said in a statement last week that Palestinian prisoners kept inside Israeli detention facilities are suffering from serious health problems, yet they are denied proper medical treatment. There are reportedly over 7,000 Palestinians in 17 Israeli prisons and detention camps. Among Palestinian prisoners behind Israeli bars, there are 18 women, 250 children, 1,500 sick detainees, who are mostly in a critical condition, and 540 Palestinians held without any trial under administrative detention.