Israel is using US-made electroshock weapons on Palestinian detainees, and the American company that makes them appears to still be supplying Israel despite evidence of their use in prisoner abuse, according to an investigation by the Guardian and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) published on Thursday. The weapons are Taser electroshock devices manufactured by Axon Enterprise, formerly known as Taser International.

Source: The Guardian / ARIJ investigation, full text via The Bull Post

The investigation centres on the account of a man given the pseudonym Essa, now 43, who says he was arrested in the Jabalia refugee camp in January 2024, where he had been staying since having both feet amputated after an Israeli missile attack on his home. He says soldiers dragged him into a section of Ofer Prison known as 'Hell's Wing', fired rubber bullets at his body, tied him up tightly and then applied a stun gun to his body. More than a year and a half later, the scars from the electric shocks remain visible on his body, the investigation reported. He was held at Ofer Prison before being released in October 2025. These are his allegations, reported here as allegations.

Source: The Guardian / ARIJ investigation, full text via The Bull Post

The close proximity of the double scars on Essa's body suggests he was subjected to repeated shocks while in a 'tightly restrained' position, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims told the investigators. According to the investigation, Essa was likely tortured with a Taser electroshock weapon manufactured by Axon. Three other detainees who have since been released also allege they were tortured using Axon weapons between 2024 and 2025, and another Palestinian man interviewed for the investigation alleges that guards poured water over his body before shocking him with a Taser during detention in 2024 — water can intensify the effects of an electric shock, the investigation noted.

Source: The Guardian / ARIJ investigation, full text via The Bull Post

The investigation traced Axon's supply chain into Israel. In 2016, MR Hunter emerged as Axon's distributor in Israel and signed a 13 million shekel contract (about £3 million) to supply the Taser X26P stun gun and its accessories to Israeli security agencies. In 2025, Axon listed another Israeli company, Goren-Kidon Group, as a distributor of its products in Israel; that company includes Taser electroshock weapons among its products and counts the Israeli police, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Defence and the Israel Prison Service among its clients. In June 2025, Axon held a conference in Israel to showcase the latest models of electroshock weapons, attended by representatives from Israeli security agencies, the investigation reported.

Source: The Guardian / ARIJ investigation, full text via The Bull Post

4released detainees whose accounts the investigation links to alleged Axon electroshock torture, including Essa
2016year Axon's then-distributor MR Hunter signed a 13m-shekel contract to supply Taser X26P devices to Israeli security agencies
June 2025Axon conference in Israel showcasing electroshock models, attended by Israeli security agency representatives, per the investigation

Axon's electroshock weapons are manufactured in the US state of Arizona and exported under the category of crime control, subject to oversight by the US Department of Commerce, which grants export licences based on criteria including whether there is evidence that the government of the importing country may have violated internationally recognised human rights, the investigation noted. Human rights groups have condemned the allegations of repeated torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Israeli detention, with Amnesty International calling for restrictions on exports of such devices.

Source: ENM News summary of the Guardian investigation (22 Oct 2026)

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said the abuse of detainees is strictly prohibited. Axon and the Israel Prison Service were approached for comment, the Guardian reported. Awaaz Punjab presents the detainee accounts above as allegations documented by the Guardian–ARIJ investigation, not as findings established by a court.

Source: The Guardian / ARIJ investigation, full text via The Bull Post

What is solid

  • The Guardian and ARIJ published a joint investigation on Thursday alleging that Axon Taser electroshock weapons have been used on Palestinian detainees and that Axon appears to continue supplying Israel
  • The investigation documents the account of a released detainee, pseudonym Essa, whose scars the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims assessed as consistent with repeated shocks while tightly restrained, plus accounts from three other released detainees
  • An IDF spokesperson said abuse of detainees is strictly prohibited; Axon and the Israel Prison Service were approached for comment

What is only claimed

  • Whether the specific weapons used in the specific incidents described were Axon devices is the investigation's assessment — it says Essa was 'likely' tortured with an Axon Taser — and the detainee accounts are allegations that have not been tested in court