Pro-Palestine demonstrators protest Google I/O developer conference

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the main entrance to Google's I/O developer conference for over an hour Tuesday as they attempted to draw attention to the tech giant's work for the Israeli government, which they say makes it complicit in "genocide" and occupation.

Protesters chained themselves together at the entrance to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, shouting "We won't stop 'til Nimbus is dropped." They were referring to a controversial $1.2 billion joint contract that Google holds alongside Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing services.

"Free, free Palestine," they added in successive choruses, according to footage posted online. "Google Cloud Rains Blood" could be seen on clothing and banners.

Project Nimbus includes a cloud and machine learning system that enables data storage, collection, analysis and data pattern and feature identification as well as prediction services.

The over $1 billion contract was signed in April 2021 between Israel, Google and Amazon.

The system can collect all data sources provided by Israel and its military, including databases, resources and live observation sources such as street and drone cameras.

Critics argue that the project could help Israel continue its apartheid-like system of oppression, domination and segregation of the Palestinian people.

At least 35,180 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed amid Israel's over seven-month war on the besieged Gaza Strip, while over 79,000 others have been injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

A cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel that precipitated the current war killed about 1,200 people.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in the enclave.