What is happening at Microsoft Israel? Shake-up deepens after review of Defense Ministry ties

[Eugene]

Related: Microsoft Israel chief leaves amid ethical controversy (Globes)

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Source: ynet Global

What is happening at Microsoft Israel? Shake-up deepens after review of Defense Ministry ties

Team from abroad arrived in Israel to investigate suspicions regarding the Israeli branch's relationship with the security establishment, after disclosure that Intelligence Unit 8200 had previously used Microsoft's cloud systems

Israel Wullman | Updated:Yesterday | 10:14

Anyone who thought Microsoft’s blocking of cloud services to Unit 8200 in late September 2025 was a one-off, temporary matter that could be taken lightly now understands the scale of the price Israel is paying for the defense establishment’s use of the sophisticated cloud systems of global software giants.

The sudden departure last week of Microsoft Israel Country General Manager Alon Haimovich after four years in the role stems directly from the findings of a quiet review conducted by Microsoft’s global management into the work of its local branch with the Defense Ministry. The departure was so sudden that no replacement had even been chosen — clear evidence of the company leadership’s lack of confidence in the Israeli management. Haimovich was not the only one; several other executives were also forced to leave the company.

Company sources on Sunday rejected reports that the Israeli branch would now be temporarily managed by the French branch. High-tech industry sources said with concern that if such a move does happen, and a foreign manager is parachuted in to run Microsoft Israel, it would amount to a dramatic vote of no confidence and a severe blow to Israel’s standing inside the global company, and to a large extent among other high-tech giants as well.

The special review team that examined the local branch’s work arrived in Israel several weeks ago to closely investigate suspicions regarding the Israeli branch’s conduct with the defense establishment, especially the reliability of its reporting to global management.

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Read more: https://www.ynetnews.com/tech-and-digital/article/sypdhmyygx

[Eugene]

1. Head of Microsoft's Israel branch to step down after inquiry into dealings with Israeli military

Source: The Guardian

Head of Microsoft’s Israel branch to step down after inquiry into dealings with Israeli military

The inquiry came after the Guardian revealed Israel used company technology to support mass surveillance of Palestinian phone calls

Harry Davies and Yuval Abraham
Tue 12 May 2026 17.24 BST
Last modified on Tue 12 May 2026 18.37 BST

The head of Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary will step down in the wake of an inquiry that has scrutinised its business dealings with the Israeli military.

Microsoft ordered the inquiry last year in response to a Guardian investigation revealing the military had used the company’s technology to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected Palestinian civilian phone calls on a mass scale.

The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found the military’s elite spy agency, Unit 8200, had used Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store a vast trove of intercepted calls from Gaza and the West Bank.

The inquiry commissioned by Microsoft is understood to have recently concluded. Its findings are unclear; however, sources familiar with the situation said they prompted an announcement last week that Microsoft Israel’s general manager, Alon Haimovich, would leave the company.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/12/microsoft-head-israel-step-down