**Microsoft Protests: Seven Arrested Over Gaza Conflict Ties**
**Meta Description:** Seven individuals were arrested at Microsoft’s headquarters during protests against the company’s alleged support of the Israel Defense Forces amid the Gaza conflict.
**URL Slug:** microsoft-protests-gaza-conflict
**Microsoft Protests: Seven Arrested Over Gaza Conflict Ties**
In Redmond, Washington, police apprehended seven individuals on Tuesday after they occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith. This action was part of ongoing protests regarding the company’s connections to the Israel Defense Forces amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, according to the protest organizers. Among those arrested were current and former Microsoft employees, as reported by the protest group No Azure for Apartheid.
Microsoft’s Azure platform, which serves as its primary cloud computing service, has come under scrutiny following a report from a British newspaper alleging that Israel utilized it to facilitate attacks on Palestinian targets. Protesters were seen gathered together on a Twitch livestream as law enforcement moved in to make the arrests, with another group present outside the building. During a media briefing later that day, Smith confirmed that two of the individuals arrested were Microsoft employees.
This protest follows a similar demonstration last week, where eighteen people were arrested in a plaza at Microsoft’s headquarters. The group has been actively protesting the company for several months. Earlier this year, Microsoft terminated an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella, and in April, two others were dismissed for disrupting the company’s 50th-anniversary celebration. The protesters are demanding that Microsoft sever its ties with Israel and provide reparations to Palestinians.
The Guardian reported that the Israel Defense Forces allegedly used Microsoft’s Azure platform to store phone call data obtained through mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In response, Microsoft stated that it has engaged an external law firm to investigate these allegations, asserting that its terms of service would prohibit such usage.
“There are many things we can’t do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should,” Smith remarked during the media briefing following the 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 undisclosed details about Microsoft’s close partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which reportedly uses Azure for transcribing, translating, and processing intelligence gathered through mass surveillance. The data can allegedly be cross-checked with Israel’s AI-enabled systems to assist in target selection. Following this report, Microsoft claimed that a review found no evidence that its Azure platform or AI technologies were used to target or harm individuals in Gaza. However, the company has not released the findings of that review but has committed to sharing factual outcomes from the ongoing investigation prompted by The Guardian’s report.
The protest groups stated that their actions were intended to highlight Microsoft’s “active role in the genocide of Palestinians.”
**FAQ**
**What are the main demands of the protest group No Azure for Apartheid?**
The protest group is demanding that Microsoft sever its ties with Israel and provide reparations to Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict.
