Full Breakdown
Allegations That U.S.-Made Tasers Were Used on Palestinian Detainees in Israeli Prisons
By Drooid · · How we work
Alleged Taser-Based Torture
Human-rights investigators describe a series of assaults in which Palestinian detainees were restrained, struck with rubber bullets, and then subjected to electric shocks from a stun-gun identified as a Taser. One survivor, Essa, a double amputee arrested in the Jabalia refugee camp in early 2024, recounts being bound, shot with rubber bullets, and repeatedly shocked while tightly restrained. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims says the double scars on his body indicate repeated shocks. Three additional former detainees have reported similar experiences between 2024 and 2025, describing water being poured over them before electric shocks that left them with visual impairment, spasms and fainting spells.
Axon’s Commercial Ties to Israeli Security Forces
Axon Enterprise, the U.S. manufacturer of the Taser, has supplied the device to Israeli authorities since the mid-2010s. In 2016 the company signed a 13 million-shekel (? £3 million) contract with Israeli distributor MR Hunter to provide the Taser X26P and accessories. By 2025 Axon listed the Goren-Kidon Group as another Israeli distributor, noting that the Israeli police, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Defence and the Israel Prison Service were among its clients. Axon’s weapons are produced in Arizona and exported under a “crime-control” category that requires Department of Commerce licences, which consider whether the importing government may have violated internationally recognised human-rights standards.
Human-Rights and International Reactions
Amnesty International has called for restrictions on exports of such devices, condemning the alleged repeated torture. The UN Committee Against Torture, in a November 2025 report, highlighted a sharp rise in torture and ill-treatment in Israeli detention facilities since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, 2023, specifically citing electric-shock abuse. The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs also reported electric-shock torture at Gilboa prison in late 2025, describing detainees being dragged to shower stalls, doused with water and shocked again.
Israeli Official Position
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces stated that abuse of detainees is strictly prohibited and that restraints, including any use of force, are employed only in “exceptional circumstances” consistent with Israeli law, international law and IDF orders.
Timeline of Key Developments
- Early 2024: Essa arrested in Jabalia camp and later detained at Ofer Prison.
- 2014: U.S. State Department notes a temporary suspension of Tasers by Israeli police after a video leak.
- 2016: Axon signs a 13 million-shekel contract with MR Hunter.
- Mid-2025: Axon showcases new Taser models at a conference in Israel; Goren-Kidon listed as distributor.
- Late 2025: UN Committee Against Torture report cites escalating electric-shock abuse since October 7, 2023; Palestinian commission reports similar incidents at Gilboa prison.
These elements together illustrate the contested role of U.S.-manufactured electro-shock weapons in alleged torture practices within Israeli detention settings.