Microsoft Faces Protests and Office Occupation Over Alleged Ties to Israeli Military

Microsoft protesters occupy president's office as company reviews its work with Israel's military

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- Police arrested seven people Tuesday after they occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith as part of continued protests over the company's ties to the Israel Defense Forces during the ongoing war in Gaza, organizers said. Current and former Microsoft employees were among those arrested, said the protest group No Azure for Apartheid. Azure is Microsoft's primary cloud computing platform, and Microsoft has said it is reviewing a report in a British newspaper this month that Israel has used it to facilitate attacks on Palestinian targets. The protesters could be seen huddled together on a Twitch livestream as officers moved in to arrest them. The video showed another group assembled outside. During a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, Smith said two of those arrested were Microsoft employees. Eighteen people were arrested in a similar protest in a plaza at the headquarters last week. The group has been protesting the company for months. Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella, and in April it fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration. The group's demands include that the company cut ties with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. The British newspaper The Guardian reported this month that the Israel Defense Forces had used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft has said it hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations, but that its terms of service would prohibit such use. "There are many things we can't do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should," Smith told reporters at a media briefing following Tuesday's arrests. "That starts with ensuring that our human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere, by all of our customers around the world." Earlier this year, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about Microsoft's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance. The AP reported that the data can be cross-checked with Israel's in-house, AI-enabled systems to help select targets. Following The AP's report, Microsoft said a review found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review, but the company said it would share factual findings from the further review prompted by The Guardian's report when complete. In the statement Tuesday, the protest groups said the disruptions were "to protest Microsoft's active role in the genocide of Palestinians."

Microsoft had police remove protesters who stormed office over work with Israeli military

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft Corp., at the Web Summit conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The annual conference gathers key industry figures in technology. Microsoft asked police to remove people who improperly entered a building at its headquarters in protest of the Israeli military's alleged use of the company's software as part of the invasion of Gaza. On Tuesday, current and former Microsoft employees affiliated with the group No Azure for Apartheid started protesting inside a building on Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington, and gained entry into the office of Brad Smith, the company's president. The protesters delivered a court summons notice at his office, according to a statement from the group. "Obviously, when seven folks do as they did today -- storm a building, occupy an office, block other people out of the office, plant listening devices, even in crude form, in the form of telephones, cell phones hidden under couches and behind books -- that's not OK," Smith told reporters during a briefing. "When they're asked to leave and they refuse, that's not OK. That's why for those seven folks, the Redmond police literally had to take them out of the building." Smith said that out of the seven people who entered his office, two were employees. While the company doesn't retaliate against employees who express their views, Smith said, it's different if they make threats. Microsoft will look at whether to discipline the employees who participated in the protest, Smith said. Once inside Microsoft's building 34, the No Azure For Apartheid protesters demanded that the company cut its ties with Israel and ask for an end to the country's alleged genocide. Tech's megacap companies are doing more work with defense agencies, particularly as demand increases for advanced artificial intelligence technologies. Many of those activities were already controversial, but the issue has gotten more intense as Israel has escalated its military offensive in Gaza. Last year Google fired 28 employees after some trespassed at the company's facilities. Some employees gained access to the office of Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google's cloud unit, which had a contract with Israel's government. No Azure for Apartheid has held a series of actions this year, including at Microsoft's Build developer conference and at a celebration of the company's 50th anniversary. A Microsoft director reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as the protests continued, Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday. Last week, No Azure For Apartheid mounted protests around the company's campus, leading to 20 arrests in one day. Of the 20, 16 have never worked at Microsoft, Smith said. The Guardian reported earlier this month that Israel's military used Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure to store Palestinians' phone calls, leading the company to authorize a third-party investigation into whether Israel has drawn on the company's technology for surveillance. "I think the responsible step from us is clear in this kind of situation: to go investigate and get to the truth of how our services are being used," Smith said on Tuesday. Most of Microsoft's work with the Israeli Defense Force involves cybersecurity for Israel, he said. He added that the company cares "deeply" about the people in Israel who died from the terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and the hostages who were taken, as well as the tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza who have died since from the war. Microsoft intends to provide technology in an ethical way, Smith said.

Microsoft President Brad Smith reclaims his office to address infiltration, protests, Israel contracts

REDMOND, Wash. -- A few hours after his office was infiltrated and occupied by a group protesting Microsoft's technology contracts with Israel, the company's president, Brad Smith, stood beside his desk addressing a hastily called press conference Tuesday afternoon. Of the seven people involved in the occupation, two of them were current Microsoft employees, and one was a former Google employee, Smith said -- seeking to underscore the company's position that the group, No Azure for Apartheid, does not represent its workforce. Smith said they blocked people from entering and planted crude listening devices in the form of cell phones hidden under furniture. After the protesters refused to leave when asked, he said, Redmond police had to physically remove them from the building. Police said the seven were arrested on charges including trespassing and obstruction. The extraordinary turn of events followed two days of protests last week by the group, which is calling on Microsoft to cut ties with Israel, alleging that its cloud and AI tools are being used in human rights abuses against Palestinians in Gaza. Last Wednesday, 20 people were arrested after demonstrators occupied a plaza at the company's East Campus and refused to disperse. Smith said such actions are "not necessary in order to get us to pay attention." More importantly, he said that this type of activity "distracts from the real dialogue" that the company is having with employee groups of different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures inside Microsoft, including internal groups aligned with Israelis and Palestinians. Smith said the company is committed to upholding its human rights principles. He reiterated that Microsoft is actively investigating a report from The Guardian alleging misuse of its Azure cloud platform by the Israeli military as part of the surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza. The Guardian "did a fair job in its reporting," Smith said, adding that after the paper contacted the company for the story, Microsoft was able to determine that some of the information was false, some was true, and "much of what they reported now needs to be tested." He also addressed a report Tuesday morning by Bloomberg News that Microsoft asked the FBI for help with the protests. Smith acknowledged that a member of Microsoft's security staff sent an email to the local FBI office in April, saying it was to inquire whether the agency had any information about protests being planned in the Seattle area. Addressing Microsoft's relationship with the Israeli military, Smith said the "vast majority" of the company's work for the Israeli Defense Force is to "protect the cybersecurity of the State of Israel." He noted this work is often done in coordination with other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, to protect against cyber threats from Iran and Russia. When asked if the two Microsoft employees arrested Tuesday would face internal discipline, Smith replied, "we'll take a look," and noted that some of them may have also been arrested last week. He called being arrested twice a situation that is "not standard employee conduct." Smith drew a distinction between what has been happening on the Microsoft campus over the past week and peaceful protests in public spaces. "People can go protest in public spaces, whether it's at the Redmond Transit Center or in a kayak on a public lake outside my house," he said. That was a reference to protesters taking to Lake Washington in kayaks on Sunday, where they gathered in front of the waterside homes of Smith and Nadella, chanting and displaying large banners which read, "Microsoft Kills Kids" and "Satya + Brad = War Criminals." Asked how the protesters breached a secure area, Smith didn't provide details but revealed that an employee reported that someone from No Azure for Apartheid had been contacting people Monday to try to get a copy of the floor plan in advance. It wasn't clear when that employee report made it to Microsoft officials. Smith said the company will "adapt our security accordingly." Smith concluded the press conference on a somber note, acknowledging the human toll of the Middle East conflict on both sides. He said Microsoft employees care deeply about the 1,139 people who died as a result of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the 251 hostages that were taken. He added that the company also cares deeply about the 61,000 civilians who have died in Gaza since the attacks, including 17,000 children, and the hundreds of thousands facing severe risks of famine. "We cannot do everything that we might wish to change the world, but we know our role," he said. "We're here to provide technology in a principled and ethical way."

Protesters occupy Microsoft president's office at Redmond HQ in latest action over Israel contracts

Protesters infiltrated the Microsoft building in Redmond where CEO Satya Nadella and other top executives have their offices Tuesday afternoon, occupying the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith and resisting security guards before being removed and arrested by police. The group locked arms in the meeting area of Smith's office, taped a mock court summons to a large monitor nearby, and livestreamed their protest on Twitch as they chanted, "Free Palestine." The Verge reported that Building 34 was temporarily locked down because of the protest. It wasn't immediately clear how protesters made it past security. One of the group's leaders, Hossam Nasr, looked significantly different from the past with a new haircut and mustache. On the livestream, protesters could be seen piling chairs and a table in front of the door as others worked to hang a large banner in the office window. A woman speaking to the camera said the group was demanding talks with Microsoft leadership. Seven protesters were arrested for trespassing and obstruction inside the office, with additional charges for resisting arrest, according to the Redmond Police Department. About 20 additional protesters outside the building dispersed without incident when asked, police said. It was the latest escalation by the group No Azure for Apartheid, which has been protesting Microsoft's tech contracts since last year, arguing that the company's cloud and AI tools are being used in human rights abuses against Palestinians in Gaza. In a press release and video posted on X, the group said it was made up of "Microsoft employees and other demonstrators" and that its goal Tuesday was to re-establish a "liberated zone" inside the building, which it said it was renaming the "Mai Ubeid Building" in honor of a Palestinian software engineer killed in an Israeli airstrike. The infiltration and occupation of Smith's office followed a turbulent week on Microsoft's campus. Last Wednesday, 20 people were arrested after demonstrators occupied a plaza at the company's East Campus, poured red paint on a Microsoft sign, and blocked a nearby bridge. We've contacted Microsoft for comment and are awaiting a statement. The company has said it supports political expression but does not allow disruptive demonstrations on its private property. It has also pledged to uphold human rights standards in its contracts and announced a review of reports that its Azure cloud platform is used in the surveillance of Palestinians. Protesters, however, continue to demand that Microsoft sever all ties with Israel, saying the company's technology is contributing to human rights abuses in Gaza.

Protesters occupy Microsoft office as company reviews its work with Israel's military

REDMOND, Wash. -- Police arrested seven people Tuesday after they occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith as part of continued protests over the company's ties to the Israel Defense Forces during the ongoing war in Gaza, organizers said. Current and former Microsoft employees were among those arrested, said the protest group No Azure for Apartheid. Azure is Microsoft's primary cloud computing platform, and Microsoft has said it is reviewing a report in a British newspaper this month that Israel has used it to facilitate attacks on Palestinian targets. The protesters could be seen huddled together on a Twitch livestream as officers moved in to arrest them. The video showed another group assembled outside. During a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, Smith said two of those arrested were Microsoft employees. Eighteen people were arrested in a similar protest in a plaza at the headquarters last week. The group has been protesting the company for months. Microsoft in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella, and in April it fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration. The group's demands include that the company cut ties with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. The British newspaper The Guardian reported this month that the Israel Defense Forces had used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft has said it hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations, but that its terms of service would prohibit such use. "There are many things we can't do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should," Smith told reporters at a media briefing following Tuesday's arrests. "That starts with ensuring that our human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere, by all of our customers around the world." Earlier this year, The Associated Press revealed previously unreported details about Microsoft's close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance. The AP reported that the data can be cross-checked with Israel's in-house, AI-enabled systems to help select targets. Following The AP's report, Microsoft said a review found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft did not share a copy of that review, but the company said it would share factual findings from the further review prompted by The Guardian's report when complete. In the statement Tuesday, the protest groups said the disruptions were "to protest Microsoft's active role in the genocide of Palestinians."

Microsoft asked FBI for help tracking Palestinian protests

(Bloomberg) -- For the better part of a year, Microsoft has failed to quell a small but persistent revolt by employees bent on forcing the company to sever business ties with Israel over its war in Gaza. The world's largest software maker has requested help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in tracking protests, worked with local authorities to try and prevent them, flagged internal emails containing words like "Gaza" and deleted some internal posts about the protests, according to employees and documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Microsoft has also suspended and fired protesters for disrupting company events. Despite those efforts, a steady trickle of employees, sometimes joined by outside supporters, continue to speak out in an escalating guerrilla campaign of mass emails and noisy public demonstrations. While still relatively small, the employee activism is notable given the weakening job market and the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests. Last week, 20 people were arrested on a plaza at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters after disregarding orders by police to disperse. Instead, they chanted and called out Microsoft executives by name, linking arms as police dismantled their makeshift barricades and, one by one, zip-tied them and led them away. An employee group called No Azure for Apartheid says that by selling software and artificial intelligence tools to Israel's military, the company's Azure cloud service is profiting from the deaths of civilians. Microsoft denies that, but the protests threaten to dent its reputation as a thoughtful employer and reasonable actor on the world stage. In recent years, Microsoft has generally stayed above the fray while its industry peers battled antitrust investigations, privacy scandals or controversial treatment of employees. Now Microsoft is being forced to grapple with perhaps the most politically charged issue of the day: Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Earlier this month, the company announced an investigation into reports by the Guardian newspaper and other news outlets that Israel's military surveillance agency intercepted millions of Palestinian mobile phone calls, stored them on Microsoft servers then used the data to select bombing targets in Gaza. An earlier investigation commissioned by Microsoft found no evidence its software was used to harm people. Microsoft says it expects customers to adhere to international law governing human rights and armed conflict, and that the company's terms of service prohibit the use of Microsoft products to violate people's rights. "If we determine that a customer -- any customer -- is using our technology in ways that violate our terms of service, we will take steps to address that," President Brad Smith said in an interview, adding that the investigation should be completed within several weeks. Smith said employees were welcome to discuss the issue internally but that the company will not tolerate activities that disrupt its operation or staffers. After Hamas's deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Microsoft executives were quick to offer condolences and support to employees. "Let us stand together in our shared humanity," then-human resources chief Kathleen Hogan said in a note a few days after the attacks, which killed some 1,200 soldiers and civilians. Unity was short-lived: Jewish employees lamented what they said was a troubling rise in antisemitism. Palestinian staffers and their allies accused executives of ignoring concerns about their welfare and the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands. The debate continued in internal chat rooms, meetings with human resources leaders and in question-and-answer sessions with executives. But the chatter was mostly limited to Microsoft's halls. That changed in early April at a bash Microsoft hosted to mark the 50th anniversary of the company's founding. Early that morning, Vaniya Agrawal picked up Ibtihal Aboussad and drove to Microsoft's campus. The two early-career company engineers -- who respectively hail from the Chicago area and Morocco -- had both decided to leave Microsoft over its ties to Israel, which had been documented in a series of articles, including by The Associated Press, and reached out to No Azure for Apartheid. "This isn't just Microsoft Word with a little Clippy in the corner," said Agrawal, who was arrested on Wednesday. "These are technological weapons. Cloud and AI are just as deadly as bombs and bullets." The pair sat together in the event space but acted as if they didn't know each other. Aboussad went first, interrupting a speech by Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's consumer artificial intelligence chief, and throwing a keffiyeh -- the traditional Palestinian scarf -- onstage before being escorted out by security. About 90 minutes later, Agrawal disrupted a panel featuring Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and his predecessors, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Scenes of the protests went viral, racking up millions of views. A Kuwaiti businessman took to X to offer Aboussad a job. Microsoft was determined to avoid a repeat. A few weeks later, the company contacted the FBI for help, asking for any intelligence on pro-Palestinian protests that may be targeting the company. In 2024, protesters had shut down a freeway near the convention center, where Microsoft was set to hold this year's Build conference. State and local law enforcement had also been tracking protests against the company since at least March, according to the documents seen by Bloomberg. "One of our former employees in particular, Hossam Nasr, has been quite active in his posts targeting Microsoft and that we are complicit in genocide," a Microsoft director of investigations wrote the FBI in an email seen by Bloomberg. The company had identified a handful of employees involved in the demonstrations, including one of their young adult children, he added. A spokesperson for the FBI in Seattle said it respects the right to peaceful protest and focuses on criminal activity and threats to national security. The FBI declined to comment on any interactions with Microsoft or other members of the public. The company spent weeks coordinating with local officials before its annual developer conference, set to be held at the Seattle Convention Center in May. Organizers worried it would be difficult to prevent disruptions coming from Microsoft's own workforce. The convention center received city approval to shut down typically public areas. Entrances were equipped with airport-style security, and clothes or signs representing "activist groups" were banned. Event staffers were reminded not to let employees in unless they had special badges. Microsoft also tried to address the underlying issue. In a blog post published a few days before the conference, Microsoft cited the previous investigation into the Israeli military's use of its software, which found no evidence the company's cloud and AI tools had been used to harm people in the conflict, or that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had violated its terms of service. These efforts did little to deter employees like Joe Lopez, an engineer who worked in the company's startup chipmaking group. Lopez, 26, had contacted No Azure for Apartheid on Instagram after reading the articles detailing the Israeli military's use of Microsoft cloud-computing services. Lopez didn't consider himself an activist, but had no interest in working for a defense contractor. So on the first day of the Build conference he attended Nadella's opening remarks. Once the CEO began speaking about developer tools, Lopez stood on his chair and accused Nadella of perpetuating war crimes. Lopez got a few sentences out before security removed him from the auditorium. He was fired that evening. Later in the day, a protest held on the street outside briefly blocked the main entrance to the convention center, and one person who tried to push their way into a set of doors was arrested. Local officials mused that that this sort of thing could become the norm for tech industry events, according to emails seen by Bloomberg. By then, the activists' tactics had started to come into focus: weaponize the resignations of disaffected employees while generally stopping short of the sort of actions that tend to lead to violence or mass firings. (The ranks of Google employees concerned about the Alphabet Inc. company's sales to Israeli government entities thinned considerably after dozens of participants of spring 2024 sit-ins were fired.) No Azure for Apartheid's ranks, organizers say, are bolstered by employees who aren't ready to cut ties with the company or go public with their participation. One member estimated that the group counted on the regular support of roughly 200 current and former employees. That's a tiny fraction of the company's more than 200,000 employees, but has proved sufficient to organize periodic protests and demonstrations. Microsoft, for its part, has avoided blanket firings, opting to reinstate two employees it had suspended for sending mass emails criticizing the company's work with Israel. Smith said the company allows political discussions, but has to enforce rules about where they take place to limit disruptions to employees. He made a distinction between the internal employee advocacy groups Microsoft executives continue to interact with and the protesters arrested last week, most of whom had never worked for Microsoft. "To have them engaging in vandalism and destructive behavior obviously makes clear that this aspect of the issue is no longer about dialogue with employees," he said. "It's a matter for law enforcement, and that's how we're treating it." The disruptions seem to have succeeded in raising awareness among employees and the wider public. Some No Azure for Apartheid members say they only began reading about the issue after seeing their colleagues demonstrate. Nearly all of the top-ranked questions submitted by employees for a May all-employee event were related to the company's work with Israel. Executives didn't address the topic. Microsoft sponsored a Seattle University event about ethics in tech in June, and the Q&A section was closed after nearly all the top comments were on the topic. "Is the presence of Microsoft on panels or in sponsorship roles an endorsement of its current practices, or a missed opportunity to hold it accountable?" one attendee wrote. It's unclear where the protests go from here. Activists for years have called on consumers and investors to boycott firms with ties to Israel. A giant American corporation like Microsoft cutting ties with the government would be unprecedented. Still, the growing global backlash to Israel's military operation could fuel more protests and prompt the activists to seek new ways to pressure Microsoft. On Sunday, protesters in kayaks carried signs and held banners, bobbing in the water near Nadella's and Smith's lakeside homes and chanting their names. When the protesters returned to the company's headquarters last week, they declared a liberated zone and pitched tents, echoing the pro-Palestinian university demonstrations and raising the prospect of a lengthy occupation. Speaking into a microphone, Nasr, the Egyptian-born, Harvard-educated engineer Microsoft flagged to the FBI, asked "friends and colleagues" to look up from their lunches and join him. No one appeared to take him up on the invitation. A few clapped. Some booed. One man yelled, "Shame on Hamas." A Redmond police officer drove his SUV to the fringe of the protest area, got on his loudspeaker and threatened to arrest the group for trespassing. The protesters quickly decamped to a public sidewalk where they shouted -- largely in vain -- for employees crossing a nearby pedestrian bridge to stop and listen. Nearby, Julius Shan, a Microsoft employee who'd spoken on the plaza, said getting the attention of colleagues "has been a growing challenge" as the company clamps down. Shan said he expected to be fired for protesting, calling the sacrifice "a small one in the face of what Palestinians are facing in their day-to-day lives." "All I'm giving up is a cushy six-figure tech job," he said. Shortly after, protesters packed their gear into waiting cars as a Microsoft security guard read their license plates into a walkie-talkie. "This isn't the end," Nasr said as the remaining protesters walked off campus. The next day he returned and was arrested. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Microsoft faces dilemma with rising protests over its Israel ties | Jon Talton

When protesters broke into Microsoft's Redmond campus this week, decrying the company's ties to the Israeli government, it was a potent reminder of the Middle East crisis reaching metropolitan Seattle. As my Seattle Times colleagues reported, the protesters sat and chanted in President Brad Smith's office in Building 34, where they also slung protest banners. According to the organizers, No Azure for Apartheid, one sign called the building "Mai Ubeid Building" -- its namesake being the late Mai Ubeid, a software engineer in Gaza who was killed in 2023 by an Israeli airstrike -- and another pressed Microsoft to "cut ties with Israel," among other demands. A former Microsoft employee, Abdo Mohamed, an organizer of the No Azure group, and Redmond police said seven protesters were arrested. On Wednesday, two Microsoft employees who participated in the protest were fired. "Microsoft continues to militarize its campus, to harass, brutally attack and violently arrest its workers and community members," Mohamed told The Seattle Times on Tuesday. Smith said an employee reported on Monday that an activist from No Azure for Apartheid was calling workers to ask for a building floor plan. "We need to keep our workplace safe and secure," Smith told reporters. "We respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys -- as long as they do it lawfully." Dozens of protesters were on part of the Microsoft campus plaza, pushing the company to sever connections to the government led by controversial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We will not stop, we will not rest, until you divest," they said, setting up a protest camp in a newly renovated part of Microsoft's Redmond headquarters. No Azure for Apartheid is a collection of current and former Microsoft employees protesting the Israeli military's use of the company's technology. The Guardian, a British newspaper also widely read online, reported this month that Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella met the commander of Unit 8200, Israel's military surveillance department. On the agenda was moving large amounts of top-secret intelligence information into Microsoft's Azure cloud. According to the Guardian, Israel's military controls Palestinian telecommunications, and its new system -- built on Microsoft servers -- allows Israeli intelligence to intercept phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza. My colleague Alex Halverson reported this month that the company is launching an independent appraisal of the use of its cloud computing by the Israeli defense forces. This comes after months of continuing concern from some employees and protesters about Microsoft's relationship with Israel's defense ministry. In a May blog post, the company said internal and external reviews didn't find evidence its technology was used to victimize Gaza citizens. Microsoft said it provides Israel's Ministry of Defense and other Middle Eastern nations with AI, language translation, cybersecurity, software and professional services. "Microsoft appreciates that The Guardian's recent report raises additional and precise allegations that merit a full and urgent review," the company said this month. "The company will share with the public the factual findings that result from this review, once it is complete." Microsoft engaged the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct the review. Yet this did nothing to quell the concerns of critics. No Azure for Apartheid responded to Microsoft's statement by stating "this was another strategy to delay cutting ties with the Israeli military." As Palestinians in Gaza face starvation and strife, 189 journalists have been killed amid the fighting between militants and the Israel Defense Force. United Nations official Sam Rose told The Associated Press this week that if the IDF proceeds with an attack on Gaza City, "all hope is gone that we're ever going to see an end to this." Despite 22 months of war, Israel said the clearing of Gaza's most populous city was "inevitable." Rose, acting director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, warned that some civilians are "too old, too young or too ill or incapacitated to evacuate Gaza City" as Israeli forces are stationed on its outskirts. "You've got a population that's living in abject fear, in abject cruelty, abject humiliation, that has no control whatsoever over their day-to-day, their minute-to-minute lives," Rose warned. The U.N. has condemned Israel's actions as comparable to ethnic cleansing. From Jerusalem's viewpoint, it's responding to the October 2023 attack by Hamas militants that flared into southern Israel, killing about 1,200, mostly civilians, and taking some 250 hostages. The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, the world's top war-crimes institution, late last year issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former minister of defense, along with Hamas' military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity. As the crisis in Gaza continues, Microsoft will face continuing challenges.

Microsoft fires 4 workers for on-site protests over company's ties to Israel

WASHINGTON -- Microsoft has fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises against the firm's ties to Israel as it wages war in Gaza, including two who took part in a sit-in this week at the office of the company's president. Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them that they were fired, the protest group No Azure for Apartheid said in a statement on Wednesday. It added on Thursday that two more workers, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, were fired. They were among protesters who had recently set up encampments at Microsoft headquarters. Microsoft said the terminations followed serious breaches of company policies. In its Thursday statement, it said recent on-site demonstrations had "created significant safety concerns." No Azure for Apartheid, whose name references Microsoft's Azure software, has demanded that the company cut its ties to Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. "We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality," Hattle said in a statement. Hattle and Fameli were among seven protesters who were arrested on Tuesday after occupying the office of company President Brad Smith. The other five were former Microsoft workers and people outside the company. Smith has said Microsoft respected "freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys as long as they do it lawfully." A joint media investigation published this month found that an Israeli military surveillance agency was making use of Microsoft's Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. The investigation, conducted by the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, said Israel relied on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians. In response, Microsoft said it was turning to law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review. Other Microsoft workers have also protested the company's ties to Israel. In April, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman's remarks were interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protesting employee during the technology company's 50th anniversary celebration over the firm's ties with Israel. That employee and another protesting employee were also subsequently fired. Firms and educational institutions have faced protests over ties with Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from Israel's military assault has mounted, and images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes at international courts that Israel denies.

Microsoft asked FBI to track Gaza protests after activists showed up...

Microsoft has reportedly asked the FBI and local police to help track and contain a wave of Gaza-related protests by its own employees -- who over the weekend showed up on kayaks in front of the lakeside homes of the tech giant's top executives. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to Lake Washington on Sunday, circling near the waterfront mansions of CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith with banners and chants accusing Microsoft of profiting from Israel's war in Gaza, according to Bloomberg News. The dramatic scene was the latest in the growing revolt inside the world's largest software maker, where a group of workers calling itself "No Azure for Apartheid" has spent nearly a year demanding the company cut ties with Israel's military. They argue Microsoft's Azure cloud service is helping fuel war crimes. Instead of bowing to pressure, the company turned to law enforcement. Internal emails reviewed by Bloomberg show Microsoft investigators contacted the FBI's Seattle office, flagging employees and even relatives linked to protests while warning that demonstrations could disrupt major events. "One of our former employees in particular, Hossam Nasr, has been quite active in his posts targeting Microsoft and that we are complicit in genocide," a director of investigations told the bureau. Nasr, a software engineer who remains active with "No Azure for Apartheid," and another colleague were reportedly fired by Microsoft in October of last year for organizing a lunchtime vigil and fundraiser for Palestinians in Gaza at company headquarters in Redmond, Wash. When reached by Bloomberg, the FBI declined to discuss its dealings with Microsoft but said it focuses on criminal threats while respecting free speech. In preparation for its Build conference, Microsoft coordinated with city officials to restrict access to public areas, add airport-style checkpoints and bar activist insignia. Those moves followed a string of high-profile disruptions. In April, engineer Ibtihal Aboussad hurled a Palestinian keffiyeh onto the stage during a keynote speech by AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. Hours later, colleague Vaniya Agrawal interrupted a panel featuring Nadella, Gates and Ballmer. Both resigned in protest. Weeks later, engineer Joe Lopez jumped on a chair during Nadella's remarks, accusing him of "perpetuating war crimes." He was fired that night. And last week, police zip-tied and hauled off 20 protesters after they formed a "liberated zone" on a Redmond plaza and chanted executives' names. Smith defended the crackdown. "To have them engaging in vandalism and destructive behavior obviously makes clear that this aspect of the issue is no longer about dialogue with employees," Smith told Bloomberg. "It's a matter for law enforcement, and that's how we're treating it." For Microsoft -- which has largely avoided the scandals dogging its Big Tech peers -- the controversy thrusts it into the center of one of the most polarizing issues in global politics. The company insists it isn't complicit in Israel's war effort. A prior internal probe found no evidence its cloud tools were used to harm civilians, though Microsoft is now investigating fresh reports that Israeli intelligence intercepted Palestinian calls and stored them on Microsoft servers. Inside the company, dissent continues. Employees say posts mentioning Gaza have been deleted and protest emails blocked. Organizers estimate about 200 current and former staffers quietly back their cause -- a small share of Microsoft's 200,000-strong workforce, but enough to keep the pressure on. "This isn't just Microsoft Word with a little Clippy in the corner," Agrawal said. "These are technological weapons. Cloud and AI are just as deadly as bombs and bullets." For now, the revolt shows no sign of slowing. Protesters say the FBI's involvement and firings will not silence them. As Nasr, the Egyptian-born engineer Microsoft flagged to the feds, declared after a Redmond rally: "This isn't the end." "No Azure for Apartheid is a campaign that will be steadfast in our determination to end Microsoft's role in the genocide of Palestinians. We are unfazed by scare tactics," the group said in a statement to The Post. "The fact Microsoft is attempting to use law enforcement as a means of suppressing its own workforce who stand in opposition against genocide should be a wakeup call to all people who seek to organize in their workplace." The group added that "this news demonstrates Microsoft is feeling the pressure from its workers, the public and of the worldwide boycotts." The Post has sought comment from Microsoft, Nasr, the FBI and "No Azure for Apartheid."

Microsoft protesters occupy president's office as company reviews its work with Israel's military

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- Police arrested seven people Tuesday after they occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith as part of continued protests over the company's ties to the Israel Defense Forces during the ongoing war in Gaza, organizers said. Current and former employees were among those arrested, said the protest group No Azure for Apartheid. Azure is Microsoft's primary cloud computing platform, and has said it is reviewing a report in a British newspaper this month that has used it to facilitate attacks on Palestinian targets. The protesters could be seen huddled together on a Twitch livestream as officers moved in to arrest them. The video showed another group assembled outside. During a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, Smith said two of those arrested were employees. Eighteen people were arrested in a similar protest in a plaza at the headquarters last week. The group has been protesting the company for months. in May fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO , and in April it fired two others who interrupted the company's 50th anniversary celebration. The group's demands include that the company cut ties with and pay reparations to Palestinians. The British newspaper The Guardian reported this month that the Israel Defense Forces had used Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in and the . has said it hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations, but that its terms of service would prohibit such use. "There are many things we can't do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should," Smith told reporters at a media briefing following Tuesday's arrests. "That starts with ensuring that our human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere, by all of our customers around the world." Earlier this year, revealed previously unreported details about Microsoft's close partnership with the , which uses Azure to transcribe, translate and process intelligence gathered through mass surveillance. The AP reported that the data can be cross-checked with Israel's in-house, AI-enabled systems to help select targets. Following The AP's report, said a review found no evidence that its Azure platform and artificial intelligence technologies were used to target or harm people in . did not share a copy of that review, but the company said it would share factual findings from the further review prompted by The Guardian's report when complete. In the statement Tuesday, the protest groups said the disruptions were "to protest Microsoft's active role in the genocide of Palestinians." Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. , source