Seven Arrested After Microsoft President's Office Occupied in Pro-Palestinian Protest, Redmond

Pro-Palestinian activists from the group No Azure for Apartheid, including current and former Microsoft employees, staged a sit-in at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, occupying President Brad Smith's office and prompting a temporary lockdown. They livestreamed the protest on Twitch, displayed banners accusing Smith of supporting genocide, and demanded Microsoft disclose its ties with the Israeli government and military, and cancel its Azure cloud contracts with Israel. The protests come amid reports that Microsoft’s Azure platform has been used by the Israel Defense Forces for mass surveillance and attacks on Palestinian targets, which Microsoft is currently investigating. Police arrested seven protesters during the incident, with Smith confirming two were current employees, and reiterated the company’s commitment to upholding human rights principles and contractual terms with customers. This demonstration follows months of unrest, including earlier disruptions at Microsoft events and claims that internal emails containing terms like “Palestine” and “genocide” were blocked. Microsoft condemned the protests’ disruptive behavior but emphasized the importance of respectful dialogue and its diverse workforce.