• Microsoft disabled cloud and AI services used by an Israeli military unit following allegations of mass surveillance.
• Internal reviews found evidence supporting reports that Israel's Unit 8200 used Microsoft services to store intercepted Palestinian communications.
• This decision comes amidst ongoing protests from employees concerned about the company's role in surveillance operations.

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has ceased providing a range of cloud and AI services to a unit within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) after an internal review found evidence supporting allegations published in a joint report by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call regarding the misuse of its services for surveillance of Palestinians. The reports detailed how Unit 8200 utilized Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store and analyze millions of intercepted phone calls made by Palestinians, assisting military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, according to trtglobal and reuters.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, emphasized the company's longstanding stance against facilitating mass surveillance, stating, "We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians." This definitive action comes after months of protests by employees under the banner "No Azure for Apartheid," who have been vocal about the ethical implications of Microsoft’s partnerships with the Israeli military, as mentioned by BBC and Al Jazeera.

The detailed investigation revealed that the platform was utilized to support extensive surveillance operations, with sources indicating that the system was capable of analyzing up to one million calls per hour. Such operations have reportedly shaped military strategies in high-stakes situations, including the targeting of individuals in populated areas, as elaborated by aa and CBS News.

Despite this notable shift, critics argue that Microsoft's measures are insufficient as they have only cut services to a specific unit while the bulk of their contracts with the Israeli military remains intact. Activists are calling for further action to ensure comprehensive accountability, as highlighted in statements by Hossam Nasr from the protest group, according to India Times and Al Jazeera.

As part of the company's commitment to privacy and customer trust, Microsoft asserts that they had no prior knowledge about the data's specific usage due to customer privacy regulations, leading to the reviews that forced the recent decision. The situation continues to develop as the implications of Microsoft's findings unfold, with ongoing scrutiny regarding the extent of the Israeli military’s access to technology that could potentially facilitate human rights abuses, notably in communications and surveillance operations, according to Al Jazeera.