MAN Truck & Bus SE is a commercial vehicle manufacturer and provider of transport solutions from the Volkswagen Group.
MAN supplies the chassis for armored riot control vehicles for the Israeli police and security forces.
MAN trucks are used by the Israel Police to transport fighters and for water cannon vehicles to disperse demonstrations. The water cannon riot control vehicles built on MAN chassis are used by the Israel Border Police and the YASAM unit (Special Patrol and Riot Police unit) of the police.
In 2018, the Israel Police purchased two 15-ton MAN 4x4 trucks for water cannon riot control vehicles to add to its existing fleet of 15 riot control vehicles, all built on MAN truck chassis. The police requested to purchase the trucks from MAN with an exemption from tender. According to the police, MAN trucks are the only 15-ton trucks that met the required load capacity.
In June 2024, MAN’s importer and representative in Israel, Automotive Equipment, submitted bids to the Israeli Police tender for the purchase of additional riot control water cannon vehicles for the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the Israel Police, Israel Prison Service, and other government bodies. The tender includes the purchase of three dual-drive water cannon vehicles weighing 15 tons and three water cannon vehicles weighing up to 18 tons. According to the tender, the truck chassis will be fitted with water-resistant CCTV with facial recognition abilities and laser sights to allow targeting of specific individuals.
MAN trucks chassis are fitted for riot control water cannon vehicles by Beit Alfa Technologies of HOS Technology R&D.
The vehicles are used to disperse water and other substances, like the “Skunk” scent-based weapon and other substances such as tear gas, paint, and foam. Water cannon vehicles have been widely used by Israeli forces against Palestinians both in demonstrations and as a punitive measure in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and within the Green Line, including to target schools and medical teams. The vehicles have been regularly used in demonstrations in the occupied West Bank.
For more about the Skunk and other crowd control weapons see Who Profits’ report: Proven Effective: Crowd Control Weapons in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Who Profits’ Update: Israeli Repression of the Palestinian May Uprising: Suppliers of Crowd Control Weapons.
Services to Settlements
MAN supplies busses to Egged Group which operates bus lines to settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
