Microsoft Cloud Used to Facilitate Israeli Surveillance of Palestinians, Report Reveals
A new investigation by The guardian confirms allegations that Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform is being utilized by Israeli intelligence to store and analyze vast amounts of data collected from Palestinians in the occupied territories. The report corroborates earlier findings by Francesca Albanese, and details a collaboration that began following a 2021 meeting between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Yossi Sariel, than-commander of Israel’s elite 8200 surveillance unit.
According to The Guardian, the partnership allowed Unit 8200 to develop a mass surveillance system capable of recording millions of phone calls from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft maintains Nadella was unaware of the specific data being stored.
The system isn’t limited to monitoring; it actively supports the planning and execution of military operations in Gaza and the West bank, according to the report. Israel controls Palestinian telecommunications infrastructure, enabling extensive surveillance. The virtually unlimited storage capacity of Azure allows for complete population monitoring.
Internal dissent within microsoft regarding the collaboration has been ongoing since the outbreak of conflict in gaza. Despite these protests, Microsoft engaged in discussions with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, offering assurances that its technology would not be used for target identification in attacks. However, sources within Unit 8200 claim data from the Azure-stored phone archives was used to identify targets in Gaza. Even with the destruction of telecommunications infrastructure in Gaza, the stored data remains valuable.
The surveillance system initially focused on the West Bank, where, according to 8200 members, Palestinians were reportedly blackmailed or arrested based on data from the archives, ofen without legitimate cause. The data was also allegedly used to retroactively justify killings. The system was described internally as a “revolution.”
the project was conducted with strict secrecy within Microsoft.Sariel characterized the work as handling “sensitive workloads” without disclosing specific plans.While proponents of the partnership claim it prevented attacks on Israelis, it failed to foresee the October 7, 2023 attack. Sariel resigned last year, taking responsibility for the “operational and intelligence failure” of Unit 8200.
Image source: Photo by Angel Bena (via Pexels)
