DayofPal—Microsoft is facing growing legal and ethical challenges over complicity of aiding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
A coalition of human rights and legal organizations has issued a formal notice accusing the tech giant of enabling war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by providing cloud and AI technologies used by the Israeli army during its devastating genocidal campaign on Gaza.
Delivered on 2 December by groups including the Center for Constitutional Rights, Avaaz, GLAN, and the European Legal Support Center, the notice warns Microsoft and its executives that they may face civil and criminal liability under international and domestic law.
The letter explains that Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence tools have been integrated into Israel’s surveillance and targeting systems, forming part of the machinery behind mass civilian deaths.
The coalition notes that since October 2023, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and injured over 170,000, while destroying infrastructure and displacing nearly the entire population.
Despite this, Microsoft expanded its partnerships with Israeli military units, with internal documents showing increased sales of cloud and AI services during the height of the assault.
One of the most alarming claims involves Microsoft’s collaboration with Unit 8200, Israel’s military intelligence division. Microsoft engineers reportedly built a customised Azure platform capable of storing more than 11,500 terabytes of intercepted Palestinian communications, helping generate “kill lists” used for airstrikes.
The company also provided extensive engineering support to the Israeli Ministry of Defence and supplied tools to units such as Ofek, Mamram, Unit 81, and Al-Munaseq.
Human rights advocates said that the genocide in Gaza would not have been possible without support from major tech firms. They say Microsoft not only enabled Israeli military operations but profited as its sales to the military surged after October 2023.
The notice was issued just days before Microsoft’s Annual General Meeting on 5 December, with shareholders urged to demand an end to the company’s involvement in Israel’s military activities.
Advocacy groups warn that Microsoft’s technology has been used to violate Palestinian rights, exposing the company to serious legal and reputational risks.
According to the coalition, the scale of Israel’s assault “would have been impossible to execute without Microsoft’s intervention.”
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