"Technology of Extermination".. Widespread Anger Over Microsoft's Collaboration with Israel in Spying on Palestinians

A report published by the British newspaper The Guardian - revealing close cooperation between Israel's military intelligence Unit 8200 and Microsoft - has sparked widespread outrage on social media platforms. The report states that this collaboration aims to monitor and store all phone calls made by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is considered one of the largest global espionage projects.

This project relied on Microsoft's Azure cloud storage technologies, as the company's CEO Satya Nadella met in 2021 at the company's headquarters with Yossi Sarid, the head of the Israeli military surveillance agency known globally as Unit 8200.

The report confirms that Nadella granted Unit 8200 access to a separate and designated area within the Azure cloud platform to store, monitor, and analyze all phone calls made from both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, for direct use in military operations conducted by the Israeli army.

In response to the report, Twitter users viewed Microsoft as an actual partner in the genocide being waged against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, accusing it of being part of the Israeli military system.

Others described Microsoft's actions as "criminal in its most blatant manifestations," asserting that it is directly involved in the killing of Palestinians through technological tools employed to target them on all fronts.

Bloggers pointed out that this cooperation clearly reveals the true face of Israel, which uses technology and digital platforms as tools for control, oppression, and violation of Palestinian rights, considering these crimes to be not random but systematic, studied, and supported by advanced technical tools.

Others called for a boycott of what they termed "human extermination technology," emphasizing that the time has come for the world to realize that true power should be in the hands of the people, not in the hands of "diabolical" governments and companies, as they described them.

Activists questioned the true purpose of data collection, asserting that the issue is no longer just about targeted advertising, but also about direct military targeting through guided missiles.

Others noted that what deepens the crime is that these tools were designed and developed by one of the largest global technology companies, which is supposed to protect privacy rather than violate it, and to build a secure digital environment rather than exploit its technologies to support a systematic killing machine.

Many commentators confirmed that it is no longer acceptable for Microsoft to continue marketing its services globally without accountability, calling for an expansion of human rights and popular calls to boycott the company's services, urging academic institutions, government entities, and individual users to stop using its cloud platform, after its involvement in violating the privacy of Palestinians and its indirect participation in bombing and killing them was established.

One activist wrote, "It has become clear that what is happening is more than a military war; it is a war on existence, managed by satellites, algorithms, and data servers." Another added, "Today, Palestinians are not only killed by bombs but also by codes." In another tweet, an activist wrote, "This agreement, which contributed to the shedding of innocent blood, was overseen by Nadella himself."

Another added, "Microsoft's hands are stained with blood, and the destruction of rights and freedoms is more dangerous than weapons." Bloggers also called on international human rights bodies - led by the United Nations Human Rights Council - to open an official investigation into Microsoft's involvement and to present legal files before European and international courts, considering what has occurred a blatant violation of international law and agreements protecting civilians and the right of peoples to privacy and security.

They affirmed that what is needed today is not only to expose the crime but also to hold its perpetrators accountable wherever they are and in whatever capacity they appear, stressing the necessity of sounding the alarm about the role of tech companies in human rights violations, demanding international investigations, and boycotting institutions involved in the shedding of Palestinian blood, even from a distance.

A number of bloggers agreed that the issue is no longer confined to political or security conflict but has transcended to a new level of "technological complicity," where Palestinian privacy is sold in the market of major corporations, and artificial intelligence systems are programmed to turn people into targets and phones into traps.

It is worth noting that Microsoft is facing internal opposition from its employees following the events of October 7, 2023, and the intense Israeli attack on Gaza, as the "No Azure for Apartheid" movement began to gain significant traction after those events.