Microsoft staff, activists occupy part of global headquarters over Israeli army ties: Report

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Employees of Microsoft, joined by former staff and community members, took over part of the company's global headquarters in Redmond, Washington on Tuesday to protest its partnership with the Israeli military, according to reports.

The Verge reported that around 50 protesters set up tents and displays at East Campus Plaza, which they renamed the "Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza."

The group, called No Azure for Apartheid, also shared a video on the US social media company X’s platform showing the occupation and declared the site a "Liberated Zone."

No Azure for Apartheid demanded that Microsoft end contracts with the Israeli military and placed a table at the site, urging company executives to join them and "come to the table" for negotiations.

Describing it as the largest action yet against Microsoft, the group said in a press release that "every day for the past 22 months, the Microsoft-powered mass surveillance weapon has been used to facilitate the bombardment and massacring of Palestinians in Gaza."

In April, two employees separately interrupted speeches by Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, to criticize the company's role in supplying technology to Israel. Both were later dismissed.