Two employees have been dismissed following a breach into the office of the company’s Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith, at Microsoft’s global headquarters in Redmond, Washington. This incident occurred earlier this week, linked to a protest against the technological giant’s alleged connections with Israel.

These terminations were the aftermath of a sit-in held by seven individuals in the executive offices at the Microsoft headquarters on Tuesday. The advocacy group ‘No Azure for Apartheid,’ organized by Microsoft employees, revealed via an Instagram post that the protesters included both current and former employees from not only Microsoft but also Google and Oracle.

The protesters, who were subsequently arrested by authorities, demanded that Microsoft sever its ties with Israel. This call for action was propelled by a report by The Guardian this month that a unit of the Israeli military is allegedly using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for surveillance purposes on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

A Microsoft spokesperson expressed, “Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct.” The employees were accused of violating the Business Conduct Policy, participating in the unlawful break-in at the executive offices, and subsequent arrest on Microsoft’s premises. The advocacy group identified these employees as Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli.

Brad Smith, in a press conference on Wednesday, announced that Microsoft has initiated a formal investigation into the reported use of Azure by Israel. He stated, “We are committed to ensuring that our human rights principles and our contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East.”

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Protests against the company for the Israeli military’s alleged use of their technology have been ongoing for several months. Last week, 18 individuals were arrested following a similar protest at the Microsoft headquarters. The backdrop to this situation is the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which began with Israel retaliating against a Hamas-led terrorist attack in October 2023, resulting in significant casualties on both sides.

In conclusion, Microsoft grapples with internal dissent and external scrutiny over its alleged links to controversial military activities.