LONDON: Israeli forces used US-made electroshock weapons to torture Palestinian detainees, according to a report published by The Guardian on Thursday.
An investigation, conducted by the newspaper and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, identified four former Palestinian detainees who said Israeli personnel tortured them with weapons resembling Tasers manufactured by the American company Axon Enterprise.
The findings raised questions about the continuing supply of American-made energy weapons despite mounting evidence of abuse in Israeli prisons.
One of the detainees, a 43-year-old double amputee who lost both his legs in the Gaza war and was being held in Ofer Prison, said Israeli soldiers repeatedly beat and subjected him to electric shocks while he was restrained. More than a year after the alleged abuse, scars remain on his body. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims said the pattern of the marks suggested repeated electric shocks while he was tightly restrained.
Another former detainee told investigators that he was doused with water before being subjected to electric shocks in 2024. He said he continues to suffer from impaired vision, spasms and recurring fainting spells.
The investigation also found evidence of continuing commercial ties between Axon and Israeli security agencies; the company listed an Israeli distributor in 2025 and showcased its latest electroshock weapons for Israeli security officials at a conference in June that year.
The allegations follow years of warnings from human rights organizations about the torture and other ill-treatment of detainees in Israeli facilities. In March 2025, Amnesty International published the results of a global investigation that documented the misuse of electric-shock weapons in more than 40 countries, and called for tighter international controls on their manufacture and trade.
The UN Committee Against Torture also raised serious concerns in November last year over reports of widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees, including electrocution and sexual violence, and called for independent investigations.
In a separate case, Israeli military prosecutors charged five reservists in February 2025 with severely abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in July 2024, including alleged use of a Taser. The charges were withdrawn in March this year after Israel’s military advocate general cited evidentiary and procedural difficulties.
A report published in November 2025 by 13 Israeli human rights organizations documented widespread mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners and said at least 94 had died in Israeli custody since the Gaza war began in October 2023, citing information from Physicians for Human Rights Israel.
The Guardian report also highlighted concerns over the limited accountability for abuses committed against detainees.