Khaberni - Microsoft announced in recent days the termination of its cooperation with Unit 8200 of the Israeli army following previous reports confirming that the Israeli army relied on "Azure" services for spying on citizens in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and recording their calls, according to a report by "The Guardian".
Microsoft justified this decision by stating that Unit 8200 had violated the company's terms of use, thus cutting off their access to "Azure cloud" services. But the question remains: has the Israeli military's access to Azure services been completely stopped, or is there more to this matter?
Hidden Additional Details
"The Guardian" report suggests that the Israeli military was considering moving its massive spying project to "Amazon" cloud services last August, and mentions that both parties - the Israeli army and "Amazon" - did not respond when asked about this matter.
However, Microsoft's decision came in recent days, specifically in late September, creating a month-long gap between the Israeli military's intent and Microsoft's decision.
It is noted that Microsoft's cooperation began with Unit 8200 in 2021, but over the past few months, multiple reports have emerged confirming Microsoft's technology's involvement in the genocide in Gaza.
It seems that Microsoft responded due to international pressure placed on it by the United Nations Commission, the demonstrations, and the ongoing objections organized by the "No Azure for Apartheid" movement within it.
The decision to stop the Israeli army's access to the company's services was made by Microsoft's Deputy Chairman and President, Brad Smith, who said in an internal email to the company's employees, "We do not provide technology that facilitates mass surveillance of civilians. We have implemented this principle in every country around the world, and we have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades."
The Guardian's report indicates that Microsoft officials spoke with the Israeli military and confirmed that previous reports about Azure's role in spying were accurate and found evidence to support these claims, adding that the company's role is not just to facilitate spying operations against civilians, thus stopping Unit 8200's access to Azure services.
Ongoing Business Relationship
Although the company has announced the termination of the spying project, this cessation is limited only to the services used in the project without affecting the rest of the projects in the company.
This means that the Israeli military in general will continue to have access to Microsoft and Azure services uninterrupted, according to The Guardian's report.
The official account of "No Azure for Apartheid" on the "X" platform also confirmed this, and despite describing what happened as an unprecedented victory, the movement believes that it is still insufficient and Microsoft remains complicit in the Israeli war on Gaza.
