Microsoft Employees Stage Protest Over Ties to Israeli Military

Casablanca – Dozens of current and former Microsoft employees occupied the company’s central plaza in the Redmond, Washington headquarters, protesting its alleged role in aiding Israeli military operations in Gaza through its Azure cloud services.

Led by the group No Azure for Apartheid, the protest unfolded Tuesday afternoon with activists setting up tents and holding placards reading “Join the Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide” and “Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza.”

The sit-in was sparked by investigative reports from The Guardian and Israeli outlet +972 Magazine, which revealed that Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, has allegedly stored mass surveillance data, namely recordings of Palestinian phone calls, on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

The data, reportedly used in selecting bombing targets in Gaza, has heightened scrutiny over the tech giant’s dealings with Israeli government entities.

In a powerful address delivered through a megaphone to a crowd of supporters and fellow employees, protest leader and former Microsoft employee Hossam Nasr declared: “We are here because over 22 months of genocide, Israel – powered by Microsoft – has been killing and maiming Palestinian children every hour.”

Nasr, who was previously dismissed from Microsoft after organizing a vigil for Palestine, referenced the recent killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif in an IDF airstrike.

“He was intentionally targeted. It happened the same week news came out that Microsoft is storing mass surveillance data collected from calls from Palestinians.”

The group circulated a 3,300-word declaration outlining their demands, calling on Microsoft executives to come to the negotiating table and urging full divestment from Israeli military-linked operations.

Microsoft previously stated it had retained the law firm Covington & Burling to conduct an independent investigation into allegations that Azure was used in surveillance that enabled Israel’s military operations.

That review followed reporting that Unit 8200 intercepted millions of Palestinian phone calls and stored them using Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure.

In a statement, the company reiterated the same position: “Based on these reviews, including interviewing dozens of employees and assessing documents, we have found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.”

Nasreen Jaradat, a current Microsoft employee and vocal member of No Azure for Apartheid, voiced frustration at what she called an inadequate corporate response. “Every single second that we wait, things are worse and worse in Palestine. People are getting hungrier and hungrier.”

The demonstration mirrors tactics seen in university campuses across the United States in recent months, where students set up tent encampments demanding institutional divestment from Israel.

Despite the peaceful dispersal, the activists have signaled they are not backing down.