Microsoft Israel Chief Exits After Probe Into Military Surveillance Links
London-Microsoft Israel General Manager Alon Haimovich is set to leave the company following an internal investigation into the technology giant’s relationship with Israeli military intelligence and the alleged use of its cloud services to monitor Palestinian communications.
The inquiry, initiated by Microsoft’s US headquarters, followed a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call that reported Israeli intelligence Unit 8200 used Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to collect, store and analyze intercepted phone conversations involving Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
According to the reports, Microsoft’s internal review concluded that the Israeli military had violated the company’s terms of service through the use of Azure technology for surveillance operations.
The investigation also found that employees within Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary had not fully disclosed the nature of the military’s activities to senior executives in the United States.
Haimovich played a central role in developing ties between Microsoft and Israeli defense authorities, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reported that he attended a 2021 meeting between Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella and the then-head of Unit 8200, one of Israel’s most prominent military intelligence divisions.
The report said Haimovich later supervised the relationship that enabled Unit 8200 to establish a large operational network within the Azure system, allowing intelligence personnel to process and review millions of intercepted calls.
Israeli financial newspaper Globes reported that Haimovich was questioned by Microsoft’s investigative team, which included lawyers from US law firm Covington & Burling, during a visit to the company’s offices near Tel Aviv.
Following the investigation, Unit 8200 reportedly lost access to Azure services and related artificial intelligence tools provided through the platform.
Haimovich did not publicly comment on the investigation.
However, in an internal email cited by The Guardian announcing his departure, he said he had helped transform Israel into “one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing markets worldwide.”
Microsoft had previously indicated that senior leadership was unaware that Azure infrastructure was being used to store intercepted Palestinian communications.
Last year, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said the company did not supply technology intended to facilitate “mass surveillance of civilians.”
The revelations add to increasing scrutiny faced by major technology companies over the use of cloud computing and artificial intelligence tools by governments and military agencies in conflict zones.
