Microsoft Protest Over Israel Ties Leads to Arrests at President’s Office

Police arrested seven people Tuesday after protesters occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith, demanding the company cut ties with Israel’s military amid the war in Gaza. The group, No Azure for Apartheid, said current and former Microsoft employees were among those detained.

The activists accuse Microsoft of enabling Israeli surveillance and targeting operations through its Azure cloud platform. The Guardian recently reported that Israel’s military has used Azure to store data from mass surveillance of Palestinians. Microsoft has denied its technology is being used to harm civilians and said an outside law firm is investigating the claims.

Smith confirmed two employees were among those arrested. “We will do what we can and what we should,” he told reporters, stressing the company’s human rights principles and contractual safeguards.

The protest follows months of employee-led actions. Eighteen people were arrested at a similar demonstration last week, and several employees have been fired in recent months after interrupting company events to protest Microsoft’s defense contracts.

The group is demanding Microsoft sever ties with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians.