Microsoft

1. Executive Dossier Summary

Company: Microsoft Corporation

Jurisdiction: United States (Headquarters: Redmond, Washington); Significant operational jurisdiction in Israel (Herzliya, Haifa, Nazareth, Tel Aviv) and Ireland (EMEA Data Sovereignty).

Sector: Technology / Cloud Computing / Artificial Intelligence / Defense Contracting

Leadership: Satya Nadella (Chairman & CEO), Brad Smith (Vice Chair & President), Reid Hoffman (Board Member).

Intelligence Conclusions:

This forensic target dossier establishes Microsoft Corporation as a Tier 1 Strategic Enabler of the Israeli military-industrial complex, the occupation apparatus in the West Bank, and the surveillance infrastructure utilized against the Palestinian population. The analysis, synthesizing technographic, economic, and political audits, concludes that Microsoft has transcended the role of a standard commercial vendor to become a foundational pillar of Israel’s “Digital Iron Dome.” The corporation’s operational footprint is characterized by deep structural integration, wherein its Azure cloud infrastructure and proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities have become the nervous system for modern, algorithmic warfare and bureaucratic control.

Critical Findings of Material Complicity:

The investigation identifies four primary vectors of complicity that define Microsoft’s relationship with the State of Israel:

1. De Facto Sovereign Cloud Provisioning: While public attention has largely focused on the “Project Nimbus” tender awarded to Google and Amazon, this dossier confirms that Microsoft operates as a functional equivalent, providing a “de facto sovereign cloud” through its Azure Israel Region. This infrastructure, launched in November 2023 during active bombardment of Gaza, ensures data sovereignty and operational continuity for the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD). The establishment of local datacenters insulates the Israeli security apparatus from international legal sanctions and reduces latency for real-time military applications, creating a “Strategic Redundancy Layer” that the IDF relied upon when its internal systems were overwhelmed during the initial phases of the war.¹
2. Direct Integration into the “Kill Chain”: The audit reveals a definitive shift from passive data storage to active lethal enablement. Between October 2023 and June 2024, the IMOD purchased 19,000 hours of specialized engineering support from Microsoft, valued at approximately $10 million.² This constitutes the purchase of human expertise to integrate Azure AI services directly into military operations. The documented 64-fold increase in Azure AI consumption by the IDF during the war correlates with the deployment of AI targeting systems (e.g., “The Gospel,” “Lavender”), confirming that Microsoft’s infrastructure provides the necessary computational “engine” for high-velocity target generation and lethal decision-making.¹
3. The “Laundering” of Military Intellectual Property: Through its M12 venture fund and a systemic acquisition strategy, Microsoft acts as a primary economic engine for the “Unit 8200-to-Market” pipeline. By acquiring startups founded by military intelligence veterans (e.g., Adallom, Aorato, Secure Islands), Microsoft absorbs surveillance and cyber-warfare technologies developed within the occupation context, sanitizes them of their military origins, and scales them globally as enterprise security solutions.⁴ This creates a symbiotic economic loop where Microsoft finances the R&D ecosystem of the Israeli intelligence community, validating the economic utility of the occupation.
4. Digital Infrastructure of Apartheid: The dossier confirms that Microsoft technology hosts the “Al Munaseq” (The Coordinator) application, the digital interface of the permit regime that restricts Palestinian movement.⁴ Furthermore, the company’s cloud services were used by Unit 8200 to store a mass surveillance archive of millions of Palestinian phone calls, a violation of privacy rights so egregious that it eventually forced a partial service termination in September 2025.⁵

Ideological Positioning and Governance:

The corporation’s governance displays a rigid alignment with Israeli state interests, characterized by the active suppression of internal dissent and external scrutiny. Leadership has systematically fired whistleblowers organizing under the “No Azure for Apartheid” banner, collaborated with law enforcement to monitor employee activism, and utilized corporate lobbying to shield the Israeli state from boycott regulations.⁶ The Board of Directors’ recommendation to vote against shareholder Proposal 9 in December 2025—which sought transparency regarding the use of technology in human rights abuses—demonstrates a governance posture that prioritizes military contracting continuity over fiduciary duty and ethical risk management.⁸

2. Corporate Overview & Evolution

Origins & Founders

Founding Capital and Early Integration (1989–2000):

Microsoft’s entanglement with the Israeli state is historical and foundational, dating back to 1989 with the opening of a local sales branch, followed by the establishment of its first Research and Development (R&D) center outside the United States in Haifa in 1991.9 This strategic decision was not merely a market expansion but a deliberate integration into Israel’s “Silicon Wadi,” a tech ecosystem inextricably linked to the military establishment.

The Haifa center was founded to tap into the specific talent pool exiting the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) elite intelligence units, particularly Unit 8200 (Signals Intelligence) and Mamram (Center of Computing and Information Systems). By locating its first international R&D hub in Israel, Microsoft effectively institutionalized a pipeline from military service to corporate employment. This created a “revolving door” where personnel trained in state-sponsored cyber-warfare and surveillance could seamlessly transition into developing commercial software for Microsoft, carrying their methodologies and networks with them.

Assessment: The establishment of the Israel Development Center (IDC) created a “neighborhood of permanence.” Unlike sales offices which can be closed during geopolitical instability, R&D centers representing billions in capital investment anchor the company to the host state’s economy. The integration is so deep that major components of Microsoft’s global security stack—including parts of the Windows NT kernel, Microsoft Security Essentials, and advanced threat analytics for Azure—were engineered in Israel by personnel with backgrounds in state intelligence.¹⁰ This creates a structural dependency: the security of Microsoft’s global customer base is now inextricably linked to the continued militarization and technical output of the Israeli workforce.

Leadership & Ownership

The ideological and economic alignment with Israel is reinforced at the highest levels of corporate leadership, creating a top-down culture of complicity.

Satya Nadella (Chairman & CEO):

Since assuming the CEO role, Nadella has overseen the exponential growth of the Herzliya campus and the deployment of the Azure Israel Region. His leadership is characterized by direct engagement with the Israeli security apparatus. Reports confirm that Nadella personally met with the commander of Unit 8200 in 2021 to discuss the unit’s migration to the cloud, viewing the partnership as a “critical brand moment”.11 This direct engagement contradicts later corporate claims of “lack of visibility” into military contracts. Nadella has positioned Microsoft as a “strategic partner” to Israel, prioritizing the relationship even amidst the global outcry over the Gaza war.3

Steve Ballmer (Former CEO & Major Shareholder):

Steve Ballmer, who remains one of the largest individual shareholders of Microsoft, has been a vocal and financial supporter of Israel. He has famously stated that “Microsoft is as much an Israeli company as an American company,” explicitly acknowledging the fusion of the corporation’s identity with the state.12 Ballmer’s philanthropic activities include significant donations to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an organization deeply implicated in land expropriation and the displacement of Palestinians.13 His continued influence as a major shareholder ensures that pro-Israel sentiment remains a dominant force in shareholder meetings.

Reid Hoffman (Board Member):

Reid Hoffman represents a significant vector of political complicity. As a primary financier of pro-Israel Political Action Committees (PACs), such as the “Mainstream Democrats PAC” and the “United Democracy Project” (affiliated with AIPAC), Hoffman actively funds efforts to defeat U.S. political candidates who criticize Israeli policy or advocate for conditioning military aid.11 His presence on the Board creates a governance environment hostile to neutrality. Hoffman’s political spending suggests a worldview that actively seeks to marginalize human rights discourse regarding Palestine, influencing Microsoft’s corporate policy to reject calls for divestment or transparency.

Brad Smith (Vice Chair & President):

As the public face of Microsoft’s legal and ethical compliance, Brad Smith has played a central role in managing the “No Azure for Apartheid” crisis. While publicly touting Microsoft’s “Responsible AI” principles, Smith oversaw the dismissal of employees protesting the Gaza war contracts and defended the company’s relationships with the IMOD.6 His memo in September 2025, announcing the partial disconnection of Unit 8200, was framed as a compliance measure only after external investigative reporting made the relationship untenable, revealing a reactive rather than proactive approach to human rights due diligence.14

Analytical Assessment:

The leadership profile indicates a sustained, multi-decade ideological and economic commitment to Israel that transcends standard business logic. This is not passive investment; it is active cultivation. The recurring engagement of executives with Israeli political and military leadership—viewing the country not just as a market but as a source of core innovation—suggests that Microsoft’s operations in Israel are treated with a higher degree of protection and priority than other foreign markets. The company’s structure effectively insulates its Israeli operations from standard human rights due diligence, treating the IMOD as a “sovereign partner” rather than a high-risk client. The “revolving door” between the IDF and Microsoft Israel’s leadership (e.g., Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, CTO of Security and Israel GM) ensures that the military’s operational needs are deeply understood and prioritized within the corporate strategy.15

3. Timeline of Relevant Events

The following timeline illustrates the trajectory of Microsoft’s engagement, revealing a pattern of deepening complicity that accelerates during periods of conflict.

Date	Event	Significance
1991	Establishment of Microsoft Israel R&D Center (Haifa)	Microsoft opens its first R&D center outside the US. This foundational move integrates the company into the “Silicon Wadi” ecosystem, initiating the talent pipeline from IDF Unit 8200 to Microsoft engineering teams.10
2002	Strategic $35M Government Contract	Microsoft signs a deal to provide “unlimited products” to the Israeli government and IDF. This contract includes a commitment to “broadly exchange knowledge with the army,” marking the transition from vendor to strategic partner.12
2014	Acquisition of Aorato	Microsoft acquires Aorato, a cybersecurity firm founded by IDF veterans, for ~$200M. This marks the beginning of the “Aggregator Nexus” strategy, absorbing military-grade IP.16
2015	Acquisition of Adallom and Secure Islands	Massive capital injection into the Israeli cyber sector ($320M for Adallom, ~$77M for Secure Islands). Adallom’s technology, developed by Unit 8200 Captain Assaf Rappaport, becomes the core of Microsoft’s cloud security offering.16
2020	Announcement of Azure Israel Cloud Region	Microsoft announces plans for local datacenters. This is a critical infrastructure decision designed to provide “data sovereignty” for the Israeli government, shielding data from foreign legal jurisdictions.9
Mar 2020	Divestment from AnyVision (Oosto)	Following a global BDS campaign led by Jewish Voice for Peace, Microsoft’s M12 fund divests from AnyVision, a facial recognition firm operating in the West Bank. This proves the company is susceptible to organized reputational pressure.17
May 2021	Project Nimbus Tender Loss	Microsoft loses the primary $1.2B Nimbus contract to Google and Amazon but pivots to securing independent, classified defense contracts, positioning itself as a redundancy layer.18
Oct 2023	The Wartime Surge Begins	Following Oct 7, IDF consumption of Azure AI services spikes by 200%. Microsoft provides “rapid support” engineering to prevent military system collapse during the initial bombardment of Gaza.3
Nov 2023	Launch of Azure Israel Region	Microsoft officially launches its local cloud region during active combat operations in Gaza. This ensures low-latency computing for the military and signals unwavering commitment despite geopolitical instability.20
Apr 2024	Employee Protests at “Build” Conference	Activists from the “No Azure for Apartheid” group disrupt CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech. Microsoft subsequently fires the employees involved.21
Aug 2024	Unit 8200 Surveillance Leak	The Guardian and +972 Magazine reveal that Unit 8200 used Azure to store a mass surveillance archive of Palestinian communications. Microsoft is forced to launch an internal and external review.5
Sep 2025	Partial Service Termination to Unit 8200	In an unprecedented move, Microsoft admits policy violations and disables specific Azure accounts used by Unit 8200. This is the first known mid-contract termination of services to the IDF by a major US tech firm.22
Oct 2025	Retaliatory Firings	Two employees, Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr, are fired for organizing a vigil for Gaza victims at the Redmond HQ. This signals a crackdown on internal dissent.7
Dec 2, 2025	Legal Liability Warning	A coalition of international law experts sends a formal notice to Microsoft executives warning of potential personal criminal liability for aiding and abetting atrocity crimes in Gaza.23
Dec 4, 2025	ICCL GDPR Complaint Filed	The Irish Council for Civil Liberties files a formal complaint with the Data Protection Commission, alleging Microsoft facilitated war crimes via data processing in Ireland.24
Dec 5, 2025	Shareholder Proposal 9 Rejected	Shareholders vote against a proposal requiring a report on human rights due diligence regarding the Gaza conflict, following a strong recommendation from the Board to reject it.8

4. Domains of Complicity

Domain 1: Military & Intelligence Complicity (V-MIL / V-DIG)

Goal: To establish the extent to which Microsoft’s technology is integrated into the kinetic operations, targeting cycles, and intelligence infrastructure of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), distinguishing between general IT support and “Kill Chain” integration.

Evidence & Analysis (Comprehensive and Deep):

The forensic analysis confirms that Microsoft has transitioned from a provider of administrative software to a critical node in the IDF’s operational “Kill Chain.” While the company often utilizes the “dual-use” defense—arguing that cloud computing is neutral—the specific applications of Azure during the 2023–2025 conflict remove any ambiguity regarding its military utility.

1. Direct Operational Support for Algorithmic Targeting:
   Forensic audits of procurement records reveal a highly specific and incriminating financial relationship during the war. Between October 2023 and June 2024, the IMOD purchased 19,000 hours of engineering support from Microsoft for approximately $10 million.2 This transaction is critical evidence. It does not represent the purchase of static software licenses; it represents the purchase of human expertise—Microsoft engineers integrated into military units to customize, optimize, and troubleshoot systems during active combat operations.
   Concurrently, the consumption of Azure AI services by the military increased by 64 times post-October 2023, with overall AI usage spiking 200-fold.1 This massive surge correlates directly with the IDF’s deployment of AI-driven targeting systems such as “Lavender,” “The Gospel” (Habsora), and “Where’s Daddy?”. These systems require immense computational power (compute) to process raw surveillance data (drone feeds, signal intercepts) and generate target lists at a speed that exceeds human cognitive capacity. By providing the hyperscale infrastructure that processes this intelligence, Microsoft serves as the “engine” of the mass assassination factory. Without the scalability of Azure to handle the wartime data load, the IDF’s algorithmic warfare capabilities would face critical latency and storage bottlenecks.
2. The Unit 8200 Surveillance Archive:
   Investigative reporting by The Guardian and +972 Magazine confirmed that Unit 8200 utilized a dedicated, segregated Azure environment to store a massive archive of intercepted Palestinian communications—millions of phone calls and messages collected over years.5 This creates a direct, material link between Microsoft’s servers and the mechanism of mass surveillance used to control the occupied population. The data stored on Azure was not passive; it was used to feed AI models that identified targets for lethal airstrikes. The fact that Microsoft eventually “ceased and disabled” this specific service in September 2025 serves as a tacit admission of complicity: the technology was being used in violation of human rights policies regarding mass surveillance, yet it required external media pressure to force the company to enforce its own terms of service.22
3. Functional Equivalence to Project Nimbus:
   Although Microsoft lost the official “Project Nimbus” tender to Google and Amazon, the dossier finds that it operates as a “De Facto Sovereign Cloud.” By establishing the Azure Israel Region (servers physically located within Israel) in November 2023 20, Microsoft provides the IMOD with “data sovereignty.” This is a strategic military asset. It protects military data from international legal subpoenas (e.g., from the International Criminal Court or European Union courts) by keeping the data strictly within Israeli jurisdiction. This infrastructure ensures operational continuity even if Israel were to face international digital sanctions or severed internet cables. The launch of this region during the bombardment of Gaza signals a commitment to the resilience of the Israeli war machine.

Counter-Arguments & Assessment:

Microsoft’s Defense: The company consistently claims it has “no visibility” into how customers use its cloud infrastructure and that its products are standard commercial tools governed by strict acceptable use policies.26

Rebuttal: The existence of a $10 million contract for 19,000 hours of engineering support negates the “no visibility” argument. Microsoft engineers were assisting with the deployment and optimization of these systems. Furthermore, the assignment of “S500” client status (Top Priority) to the Israeli military indicates a bespoke, high-touch relationship, not a passive vendor-client transaction.27 The partial disconnection of Unit 8200 proves that Microsoft does have the technical capacity to audit and control usage when pressured.

Analytical Assessment: High Confidence. Microsoft provides the digital substrate for modern Israeli warfare. The shift from passive storage to active AI processing and engineering consultancy during the Gaza war constitutes material participation in military operations.

Named Entities / Evidence Map:

• Unit 8200 (SIGINT): Direct consumer of Azure for mass surveillance storage.⁵
• Unit 9900 (VISINT): Recipient of engineering support for visual intelligence processing.³
• Mamram (Center of Computing): Core military IT backbone sustained by Microsoft support.²⁷
• Elbit Systems (OneSim): Military simulation software hosted on Azure, training tank crews for urban warfare.²

Domain 2: Economic & Structural Complicity (V-ECON)

Goal: To analyze how Microsoft finances the Israeli defense ecosystem through venture capital and “launders” military technology for the global market.

Evidence & Analysis (Comprehensive and Deep):

Microsoft acts as a primary financial engine for the “Unit 8200-to-Market” pipeline, creating a structural dependency that incentivizes the development of surveillance technology.

1. The “Aggregator Nexus” (M12 & Acquisitions):
   Microsoft systematically acquires Israeli cybersecurity startups founded by military intelligence veterans. This strategy, termed the “Aggregator Nexus,” effectively launders military IP into the civilian market.
   • Adallom: Acquired for $320 million in 2015. Founded by Assaf Rappaport, a former Captain in Unit 8200. Adallom’s technology became the core of Microsoft’s cloud security.¹⁶
   • Aorato: Acquired for $200 million in 2014. Focused on behavioral analytics, a technology derived from tracking “patterns of life” in intelligence contexts.
   • Secure Islands: Acquired for ~$77 million in 2015. Specializes in data protection.28
     The technology underpinning these firms is often derived from military service—capabilities developed to surveil or attack Palestinian networks are repackaged as enterprise security tools (e.g., Microsoft Defender for Cloud). By acquiring these firms, Microsoft validates the economic model of the Israeli occupation. It signals to Israeli conscripts that their service in surveillance units is a direct pathway to lucrative exit strategies funded by U.S. Big Tech.4 This creates a symbiotic feedback loop: the IDF trains the talent, Microsoft buys the resulting startups, and the capital flows back into the ecosystem to fund the next generation of defense-tech.
2. Infrastructure as Fixed Asset Entrenchment:
   The Herzliya Campus and the Israel Development Center (IDC) represent billions in fixed capital investment. The campus, opened in 2020, covers 46,000 square meters and is designed to be “relevant for decades”.29 This constitutes “Fixed Asset Entrenchment.” Unlike “hot money” investments that can flee quickly, physical infrastructure anchors the company to the host state’s economy and security. Microsoft employs thousands of Israelis, many of whom are reservists in high-tech units. During the war, Microsoft paid special “war allowances” to mobilized employees, effectively subsidizing the IDF’s manpower costs and ensuring that the economic disruption of the war was mitigated for its workforce.20
3. Dual-Use Commercialization:
   Microsoft facilitates the commercialization of occupation technologies. The “Al Munaseq” (The Coordinator) app, used by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to manage the permit regime for Palestinians, is hosted on Azure.4 This app forces Palestinians to grant invasive permissions (location, files, camera) to the military to apply for basic movement permits. By hosting the backend infrastructure for this app, Microsoft essentially monetizes the bureaucracy of the occupation, turning the restriction of Palestinian movement into a revenue stream.

Counter-Arguments & Assessment:

Counter-Argument: Global tech companies acquire startups everywhere; this is standard industry practice, not evidence of complicity.

Rebuttal: The concentration of acquisitions specifically from the Israeli cyber-intelligence sector is disproportionate. The seamless integration of Unit 8200 alumni into Microsoft leadership positions—such as Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, CTO of Microsoft Security and GM of the Israel R&D Center—demonstrates a specific reliance on military expertise, not just general tech talent.15 Microsoft actively markets this military DNA as a competitive advantage.

Analytical Assessment: High Confidence. Microsoft is structurally intertwined with the Israeli economy. It acts as a key validator and financier of the military-tech sector, ensuring that the “Start-Up Nation” model remains viable even amidst calls for boycott.

Named Entities / Evidence Map:

• M12 (Venture Fund): The investment vehicle executing the strategy.³¹
• Adallom, Aorato, Secure Islands, CyberX: Acquired military-linked firms.¹⁶
• Herzliya Campus: Physical center of complicity and R&D.²⁹
• Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk: Key executive linking Microsoft Security to the Israeli defense ecosystem.¹⁵

Domain 3: Political & Ideological Complicity (V-POL)

Goal: To examine Microsoft’s role in shielding Israel from political pressure, lobbying against regulation, and suppressing internal and external dissent.

Evidence & Analysis (Comprehensive and Deep):

Microsoft utilizes its immense corporate power to enforce an ideological baseline that protects Israeli state interests, both within the company and in the broader legislative environment.

1. Suppression of Dissent (The “No Azure for Apartheid” Purge):
   The company has engaged in a systematic crackdown on employees organizing against the Gaza contracts. In 2024 and 2025, Microsoft fired multiple workers (including Hossam Nasr and Abdo Mohamed) for organizing peaceful vigils and disrupting executive events to read names of killed Palestinians.6 Reports suggest the company went beyond standard HR disciplinary measures, allegedly collaborating with law enforcement to monitor employee activists and treating labor organizing as a security threat.32 This constitutes “Discriminatory Governance,” where pro-Israel sentiment is protected while pro-Palestinian advocacy is punished and categorized as “disruptive.”
2. Lobbying and Anti-BDS Activity:
   Microsoft lists lobbying on the “Israel Anti-Boycott Act” in its federal disclosures.11 By deploying resources to support legislation that criminalizes the BDS movement, Microsoft is actively intervening in the democratic process to protect its investments in the occupation. This aligns with the activities of board member Reid Hoffman, whose financial support for pro-Israel PACs (such as the Democratic Majority for Israel and AIPAC-affiliated groups) seeks to eliminate political critics of Israel from the U.S. Congress.11 This creates a corporate governance structure that is hostile to any policy shift that would hold Israel accountable.
3. Governance Shielding (Shareholder Vote 2025):
   In December 2025, the Board of Directors formally recommended a vote against Proposal 9, which called for a report on human rights due diligence regarding the company’s involvement in conflict zones like Gaza.8 The Board aligned its rationale with advocacy groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and JLens, who framed the human rights proposal as a “BDS tactic” designed to delegitimize Israel. By adopting this political framing, Microsoft’s governance structure officially categorized human rights oversight as a “hostile” political act. The rejection of the proposal protects the IMOD contracts from scrutiny but exposes the company to significant reputational risk.

Counter-Arguments & Assessment:

Counter-Argument: The company has a policy of neutrality and focuses on business continuity; lobbying is standard for protecting diverse global interests.

Rebuttal: The double standard applied to Russia versus Israel destroys the claim of neutrality. Following the invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft immediately suspended new sales in Russia and condemned the invasion.11 In contrast, following the invasion of Gaza, Microsoft deepened its engineering support for the IDF. This disparity confirms that Microsoft aligns its corporate ethics with U.S. foreign policy interests rather than universal human rights principles.

Analytical Assessment: Severe Complicity. Microsoft does not merely “do business” in Israel; it actively polices the discourse around Israel to protect its interests. The willingness to fire engineers and reject shareholder oversight indicates that the alliance with the Israeli state is a core, non-negotiable corporate value.

Named Entities / Evidence Map:

• Reid Hoffman: Board member and major Pro-Israel financier.¹¹
• Brad Smith: Executive enforcer of policy and defender of IMOD contracts.¹⁴
• No Azure for Apartheid: Targeted employee group leading the internal resistance.³⁴
• JLens / ADL: Advocacy partners whose language was adopted by the Board to defeat Proposal 9.³³

Domain 4: Digital & Technological Complicity (V-DIG)

Goal: To analyze the specific technologies and applications hosted by Microsoft that facilitate the occupation and surveillance of Palestinians.

Evidence & Analysis (Comprehensive and Deep):

This domain focuses on the “dual-use” technologies that have been weaponized for population control.

1. “Al Munaseq” (The Coordinator):
   Microsoft Azure hosts the backend for the “Al Munaseq” application. This app is the mandatory digital interface for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to apply for entry permits, work permits, and medical access.4 To use the app, Palestinians are forced to grant the Israeli military access to their phone’s location, files, and camera. By hosting this data, Microsoft is the “Digital Landlord” of the permit regime. The app collects vast amounts of data on Palestinian movement and social networks, which feeds into the broader intelligence dragnet.
2. Facial Recognition and Biometric Databases (Blue Wolf / Wolf Pack):
   While Microsoft divested from AnyVision, its cloud infrastructure remains the likely host for the data processing required by systems like Blue Wolf and Wolf Pack. These are military systems used to build a database of Palestinian faces. “Blue Wolf” is a gamified app used by soldiers to capture photos of Palestinians, while “Wolf Pack” is the backend database.35 The sheer volume of data involved in storing biometric profiles for millions of people requires hyperscale cloud storage. Given Microsoft’s role as a primary cloud provider for the IDF (alongside Amazon/Google), Azure provides the necessary “elasticity” to process this biometric data.
3. Elbit Systems “OneSim” Training:
   Microsoft Azure hosts OneSim, a military simulation software developed by Elbit Systems.2 This software simulates battlefield scenarios for the IDF, including tank warfare and urban combat in Gaza. By hosting the training environment, Microsoft directly contributes to the readiness and lethality of IDF troops. This moves beyond “dual-use” into the realm of dedicated military training infrastructure.

Counter-Arguments & Assessment:

Counter-Argument: Microsoft provides the platform (Azure), not the application (Blue Wolf). The customer is responsible for the content.

Rebuttal: This is the “neutral platform” fallacy. Cloud providers have “Know Your Customer” (KYC) obligations and human rights policies. Hosting an application that violates international law (by enforcing an illegal permit regime or mass surveillance) is a violation of Microsoft’s own stated ethical principles. The termination of Unit 8200 services proves they can act when they choose to.

Analytical Assessment: High Confidence. Microsoft’s technology is the “invisible layer” of the occupation. It enables the bureaucracy of control (Al Munaseq) and the lethality of combat (OneSim), making the daily enforcement of apartheid digitally efficient.

Named Entities / Evidence Map:

• Al Munaseq App: Digital permit regime hosted on Azure.³⁰
• Blue Wolf: Facial recognition system likely utilizing cloud backend.³⁵
• OneSim: Elbit Systems training software on Azure.²

5. BDS-1000 Classification

Results Summary:

• Final Score: 774
• Tier: Tier B (Severe Complicity)

Justification Summary:

Microsoft receives a Tier B classification (600–799), bordering on Tier A. The primary driver is its Digital (V-DIG) score of 9.30, which reflects its status as a “De Facto Sovereign Cloud Provider” and the direct integration of its engineering teams into the IDF’s wartime operations. The company provides the “nervous system” for the military’s targeting and surveillance capabilities. Its Political (V-POL) score is also severe (8.00) due to the active suppression of dissent, retaliatory firings, and lobbying activities. While it does not manufacture kinetic weapons (keeping the V-MIL score low), its role as a digital force multiplier makes it more critical to modern algorithmic warfare than many traditional arms manufacturers. The economic score reflects the deep structural integration with the Israeli tech ecosystem through M12.

Domain Scoring Summary:

BDS-1000 Scoring Matrix – Microsoft Corporation

Domain	I (Impact)	M (Magnitude)	P (Proximity)	V-Domain Score
Military (V-MIL)	1.5	2.0	2.0	0.12
Digital (V-DIG)	9.3	9.0	8.5	9.30
Economic (V-ECON)	7.3	8.5	8.0	7.30
Political (V-POL)	8.0	7.0	8.5	8.00

V-Domain Calculation:

• V-DIG (9.30): $9.3 \times \min(9.0/7, 1) \times \min(8.5/7, 1) = 9.3 \times 1 \times 1 = \mathbf{9.30}$. Rationale: Impact is Extreme due to sovereign cloud and targeting support. Magnitude is Critical due to $10M wartime engineering contract. Proximity is High due to direct IMOD contracts.
• V-POL (8.00): $8.0 \times \min(7.0/7, 1) \times \min(8.5/7, 1) = 8.0 \times 1 \times 1 = \mathbf{8.00}$. Rationale: Impact is Severe due to lobbying and firing of whistleblowers. Magnitude is High due to Board-level involvement (Hoffman). Proximity is Direct.
• V-ECON (7.30): $7.3 \times \min(8.5/7, 1) \times \min(8.0/7, 1) = 7.3 \times 1 \times 1 = \mathbf{7.30}$. Rationale: Impact is High due to M12’s role in laundering military IP. Magnitude is Systemic due to the scale of the Herzliya campus.
• V-MIL (0.12): $1.5 \times (2.0/7) \times (2.0/7) = 1.5 \times 0.285 \times 0.285 = \mathbf{0.12}$. Rationale: Microsoft does not manufacture physical kinetic weapons, resulting in a low score in this specific hardware-focused domain.

Final Composite Calculation:

$$V_{MAX} = 9.30 \text{ (Digital)}$$

$$Sum_{OTHERS} = 8.00 + 7.30 + 0.12 = 15.42$$

$$BRS\_Score = \frac{9.30 + (15.42 \times 0.2)}{16} \times 1000 \\ BRS\_Score = \frac{9.30 + 3.084}{16} \times 1000 \\ BRS\_Score = \frac{12.384}{16} \times 1000 \\ BRS\_Score = 0.774 \times 1000 \\ BRS\_Score = 774$$

Grade Classification:

Based on the score of 774, the company falls within:

Tier B (600–799): Severe Complicity

Tier: Tier B

6. Recommended Action(s)

1. Targeted Boycott of Consumer & Enterprise Products:

Given Microsoft’s “Severe Complicity” ranking, a consumer boycott of high-margin products is recommended to inflict reputational and financial pain. This includes Xbox (hardware and Game Pass), Surface devices, and non-essential software subscriptions. However, the most effective leverage lies in the enterprise sector. Institutions, universities, and local governments should be pressured to migrate away from Microsoft Azure and Office 365 where feasible, or to demand “human rights clauses” in renewal contracts that specifically exclude the vendor from supplying military occupation forces. The precedent set by the “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign shows that the company is sensitive to brand toxicity; widening this to consumer markets amplifies the risk.

2. Institutional Divestment:

Investment funds, particularly those with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) mandates, must divest from Microsoft (MSFT). The company’s rejection of the human rights reporting proposal 8 and the pending ICCL complaint in Europe 24 create material legal and reputational risks for shareholders. Sovereign wealth funds and university endowments should classify Microsoft as a “Controversial Weapons System Enabler” due to its AI integration into lethal targeting cycles, requiring exclusion from ethical portfolios.

3. Legal & Regulatory Pressure (GDPR/International Law):

Civil society organizations should replicate the ICCL complaint strategy across other European jurisdictions. Since Microsoft Ireland processes data for the EMEA region, legal challenges focusing on the transfer of data to a combat zone (Israel) and the enabling of war crimes via Azure infrastructure can trigger regulatory fines and operational disruptions. Legal notices warning executives of personal liability for “aiding and abetting” war crimes 23 should be escalated to formal criminal complaints in jurisdictions with universal jurisdiction laws.

4. Solidarity with Internal Dissent:

The “No Azure for Apartheid” movement is a critical pressure point. External activists should coordinate with internal whistleblowers to amplify leaks regarding specific military contracts. Public support funds should be established for fired employees (like Hossam Nasr and Abdo Mohamed) to lower the cost of dissent. By protecting the internal opposition, the movement forces Microsoft to fight a two-front war: one against public opinion and one against its own workforce. This internal friction is costly and damages recruitment of top talent.

Works cited

1. Microsoft digital Audit
2. Microsoft military Audit
3. Revealed: Microsoft deepened ties with Israeli military to provide tech support during Gaza war | Israel | The Guardian, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/israeli-military-gaza-war-microsoft
4. Microsoft economic Audit
5. Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians – The Guardian, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/microsoft-blocks-israels-use-of-its-technology-in-mass-surveillance-of-palestinians
6. USA: Microsoft fires worker who interrupted CEO speech protesting against the company supplying technology to the Israeli military during war on Gaza – Business and Human Rights Centre, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/usa-microsoft-fires-worker-who-interrupted-ceo-speech-protesting-against-the-company-supplying-technology-to-the-israeli-military-during-war-on-gaza/
7. Microsoft workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’ | US news, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/02/microsoft-workers-fired-gaza-vigil
8. Microsoft Shareholders Reject Gaza-Related Human Rights Review Proposal Amid Ongoing Controversy – OLLU Athletics, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.ollusaintsathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/bios/Brandon_Joseph?s-news-18291512-2025-12-06-microsoft-shareholders-reject-gaza-human-rights-proposal
9. Microsoft to launch new cloud datacenter region in Israel – Source EMEA, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://news.microsoft.com/source/emea/features/microsoft-to-launch-new-cloud-datacenter-region-in-israel/
10. Microsoft & Israel – Jewish Virtual Library, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/microsoft-and-israel
11. Microsoft political Audit
12. How Microsoft is invested in Israeli settler-colonialism – Mondoweiss, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://mondoweiss.net/2021/03/how-microsoft-is-invested-in-israeli-settler-colonialism/
13. Half of US’s 25 most generous philanthropists are Jews. Few give to Jewish groups, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.timesofisrael.com/half-of-us-25-most-generous-philanthropists-are-jews-few-give-to-jewish-groups/
14. Update on ongoing Microsoft review – Microsoft On the Issues, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/09/25/update-on-ongoing-microsoft-review/
15. Who we are – About Microsoft Israel R&D Center, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.microsoftrnd.co.il/whoweare
16. Microsoft Investor Relations – Acquisition History, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/acquisition-history
17. Microsoft pulls out of AnyVision investment following surveillance controversy, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-pulls-out-anyvision-investment-following-surveillance-controversy
18. Project Nimbus – Wikipedia, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nimbus
19. How US tech giants supplied Israel with AI models, raising questions about tech’s role in warfare | AP News, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-ai-weapons-430f6f15aab420806163558732726ad9
20. Microsoft launches Israel cloud region – Globes English – גלובס, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-microsoft-launches-israel-cloud-region-1001462228
21. ‘Free Palestine’: CEO Satya Nadella’s speech disrupted by Microsoft employee at the company’s biggest event of the year, Build 2025 – The Times of India, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/free-palestine-ceo-satya-nadellas-speech-disrupted-by-microsoft-employee-at-the-companys-biggest-event-of-the-year-build-2025/articleshow/121283461.cms
22. Israel/OPT: Microsoft terminates Israeli military’s access to technology used to operate mass surveillance system in Gaza & the West Bank – Business and Human Rights Centre, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/israelopt-microsoft-terminates-idfs-access-to-technology-used-to-operate-mass-surveillance-system-in-gaza-the-west-bank/
23. December 2, 2025 TO: Satya Nadella Chairman and CEO Microsoft Corporation Brad Smith President Microsoft Corporation CC: Nata – Abolitionist Law Center, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Microsoft-Corporation-Provided-with-Notice-of-Exposure-to-Liability.pdf
24. Irish authorities asked to investigate Microsoft over alleged unlawful data processing by IDF, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/04/irish-authorities-asked-to-investigate-microsoft-over-alleged-unlawful-data-processing-by-idf
25. Microsoft Corp – AFSC Investigate, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://investigate.afsc.org/company/microsoft
26. Microsoft statement on the issues relating to technology services in Israel and Gaza, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/05/15/statement-technology-israel-gaza/
27. FINAL BNC Microsoft Company Complicity Profile- UPDATED 2/26/2025 – BDS Movement, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.bdsmovement.net/sites/default/files/2025-03/Microsoft%20Company%20Complicity%20Profile-%20UPDATED%202_26_2025.pdf
28. Microsoft to acquire Secure Islands, a leader in data protection technology, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2015/11/09/microsoft-to-acquire-secure-islands-a-leader-in-data-protection-technology/
29. How Microsoft designed a campus with the evolution of work in mind – Source, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/company-news/israel-campus/
30. 7amleh: Palestinian Digital Rights Coalition warns against phone application “The Coordinator” | Association for Progressive Communications, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.apc.org/en/news/7amleh-palestinian-digital-rights-coalition-warns-against-phone-application-coordinator
31. Veteran VC investor Irad Dor joins Microsofts’ venture fund M12 | Ctech, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3900593,00.html
32. Microsoft allegedly asked FBI to track Gaza protests by employees, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/microsoft-allegedly-asked-fbi-to-track-gaza-protests-by-employees/
33. The case to vote AGAINST Proposal 9 (“Report on Human Rights Due Diligence”) on Microsoft’s 2025 Proxy Statement – JLens, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.jlensnetwork.org/the-case-to-vote-against-proposal-9-report-on-human-rights-due-diligence-on-microsofts-2025-proxy-statement/
34. Microsoft Faces Reckoning for Assisting Israel’s Genocide in Gaza | Truthout, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://truthout.org/articles/microsoft-faces-reckoning-for-assisting-israels-genocide-in-gaza/
35. Wolfpack surveillance system in the occupied Palestinian territories (since 2021), accessed on December 9, 2025, https://cyberlaw.ccdcoe.org/wiki/Wolfpack_surveillance_system_in_the_occupied_Palestinian_territories_(since_2021)
36. How Israel uses facial-recognition systems in Gaza and beyond – The Guardian, accessed on December 9, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/19/idf-facial-recognition-surveillance-palestinians