28 Aug 2025 : Microsoft Corp. has fired two employees for taking part in a sit-in at the office of the company president to protest the company’s ties to Israel amid the Gaza war.
The workers were terminated following a “serious breach of company policies and our code of conduct” stemming from “the break-in at executive offices”, a spokesperson for the Redmond, Washington-based company said.
Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli received voicemails informing them that they were fired, the protest group ‘No Azure for Apartheid’ said in a statement. They were among seven protesters who were arrested on Tuesday after occupying the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith. The other five were former Microsoft workers and people outside the company.
“We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality,” Hattle said in a statement on Wednesday.
‘No Azure for Apartheid’, whose name references Microsoft’s Azure software, has demanded that the company cut its ties to Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians.
“We respect the freedom of expression that everyone in this country enjoys as long as they do it lawfully,” Smith said on Tuesday.
According to a media investigation, Israel’s military surveillance agency is using Microsoft Azure to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The investigation, conducted by the UK’s Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication 972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, said Israel relied on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians.
In response, Microsoft said this month it was turning to law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review.
Earlier Protests
Other Microsoft workers have also protested the company’s ties to Israel.
In April, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s remarks were interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protesting employee during the technology company’s 50th anniversary celebration over the firm’s ties with Israel. That employee and another protesting employee were also fired.
Other firms and educational institutions have faced protests over ties with Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from Israel’s military assault has mounted, and images of starving Palestinians, including children, have sparked global outrage.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israel-Palestine conflict started in October 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes at international courts that Israel denies.
Summary:
Microsoft has terminated two employees who protested against the company’s business ties with Israel, escalating tensions amid global scrutiny over corporate involvement in geopolitical conflicts.