Microsoft’s operations in Israel have been temporarily placed under the management of Microsoft France [Getty]
Microsoft has fired the head of its operations in Israel, Alon Haimovitch, and other senior figures, months after revelations about the Israeli subsidiary’s use of Microsoft Azure cloud services to spy on Palestinians, Israeli business news outlet Globes reported on Monday.
The move was announced by Microsoft Israel last week, following an investigation by Microsoft into breaches of the company’s code of conduct by the Israeli branch’s work with Israel’s Ministry of Defence.
Microsoft Israel has temporarily been placed under the management of Microsoft France.
Microsoft’s investigation team arrived in Israel several weeks ago, with a particular interest in the sales department’s dealings with the ministry, according to Globes.
The company was reportedly concerned that the contract was operating in a non-transparent way, which would bring it into regulatory issues in Europe, as part of the work with the ministry was performed by servers on the continent.
At the centre of the issue is Israeli intelligence units’ use of Azure to store surveillance data on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. This was revealed by a report by The Guardian and Israel’s +972 Magazine in 2025.
According to Globes, the internal investigation by Microsoft revealed further violations of the company’s terms by the Israeli subsidiary in its work with the Israeli government.
‘No Azure for Apartheid’
Microsoft has faced increased international scrutiny over its dealings with Israel, particularly since the start of the Gaza genocide in 2023.
The firm’s annual developer conference in May 2025 in Seattle was marked by protests by thousands of current and former employees who carried the banner “No Azure for Apartheid”, referring to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Anti-Israel protesters also disrupted the conference, including the speech given by CEO Satya Nadella.
Protesters also broke into company president Brad Smith’s office in August, with Smith later saying that the firm was investigating Israel’s use of Microsoft tech.
“We decided to investigate the Guardian’s claims about the IDF’s use of Azure to store recordings of phone calls obtained through extensive and mass surveillance in Gaza and the West Bank, based on two principles: protecting privacy and preventing mass surveillance of citizens. We have applied this principle in every country in the world and have insisted on it repeatedly for more than two decades,” Smith said, following the release of the report.
Microsoft announced in September that it would be ending its work with the Israeli army’s signals intelligence unit, Unit 8200.
Despite sustained pressure on Microsoft over its dealings with Israel, including from rights groups like Amnesty International, Globes reported that the firm is seeking to renew its contract with the defence ministry when it expires this year.
The firm has also terminated employees’ contracts over anti-Israel protests.
