An investigation reveals Microsoft's assistance to the occupation army in espionage.

An investigation conducted by The Guardian in collaboration with the Israeli magazine +972 and the Hebrew-speaking site Local Call revealed that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella met with the commander of the Israeli military intelligence unit 8200 in late 2021. The meeting aimed to discuss the transfer of vast amounts of highly classified intelligence materials to the American company's cloud.

The investigation raised questions about how the Israeli military intelligence unit 8200 uses the "Azure" cloud storage platform to monitor Palestinians, as it was suspected that the company's employees in Israel had concealed important information related to their military projects.

The investigation included that unit 8200 embarked on building a new and powerful mass surveillance tool that collects and stores recordings of millions of phone calls made by Palestinians daily in Gaza and the West Bank. This raised widespread concerns about the use of technology in the oppression of Palestinians.

Leaked Microsoft documents and interviews with 11 sources from the company and Israeli military intelligence revealed how unit 8200 used "Azure" to store a vast archive of daily Palestinian communications, aiding in the preparation for lethal airstrikes and shaping military operations.

The report raised concerns within Microsoft’s management regarding the commitment of its employees residing in the occupied territories to full transparency about the use of unit 8200 of the Azure platform. Senior executives at the company are making efforts to assess the data held by the unit and reconsider how it is used.

In May, Microsoft stated that a review of its relationship with the occupying army found no evidence so far of the use of "Azure" to target or harm individuals in Gaza, but the results of the review were partially based on assurances from employees in Israel.

However, some senior executives at the company’s headquarters in the United States expressed doubts about the accuracy of the information coming from employees in Israel, leading to questions about their ties to their country's army more than to their company.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the company takes these allegations seriously and is committed to verifying any new data. In contrast, a spokesperson for the Israeli occupying army stated that the company was not working with the army on storing or processing data.