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Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians


Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project

Microsoft has terminated the Israeli military’s access to technology it used to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected millions of Palestinian civilian phone calls made each day in Gaza and the West Bank, the Guardian can reveal. Microsoft told Israeli officials late last week that Unit 8200, the military’s elite spy agency, had violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data in its Azure cloud platform, sources familiar with the situation said. Although the initial focus of the surveillance system was the West Bank, where an estimated 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military occupation, intelligence sources said the cloud-based storage platform had been used in the Gaza offensive to facilitate the preparation of deadly airstrikes.

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