Microsoft fires four employees over Gaza protest sit-ins

Microsoft has dismissed four workers who took part in protests against the company’s ties to Israel, including two who staged a sit-in at the office of company president Brad Smith earlier this week.

Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli said they were informed of their termination through voicemails, according to the protest group No Azure for Apartheid. The group added on Thursday that two more employees, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, were also fired.

The employees had joined demonstrations and encampments at Microsoft headquarters demanding the company cut its links with Israel as it continues its war on Gaza.

Microsoft said the firings followed “serious breaches” of company policies and that recent on-site actions had “created significant safety concerns.”

But protesters rejected that framing.

Hattle and Fameli were among seven people arrested Tuesday during the office occupation. The other five were ex-Microsoft employees or outside supporters. Smith later told reporters the company respected freedom of expression “as long as they do it lawfully.”

The dismissals come amid heightened scrutiny of Microsoft’s role in Israeli surveillance. A joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call revealed this month that Israel’s military intelligence has been using Microsoft’s Azure cloud to store vast numbers of Palestinian phone recordings from the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

In response, Microsoft hired the law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review.

This is not the first time workers have faced consequences. In April, two employees were also fired after interrupting Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event to protest against Israel contracts.

The firings mirror a wider wave of dissent across corporations and universities worldwide, as images of starving Palestinian families and mass destruction in Gaza spark outrage. Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza and created famine conditions.