Tech giant Microsoft has "ceased and disabled" some services that it was providing to Israel's Ministry of Defence (IMOD).  

In a blog post on the company's website, president Brad Smith told staff that it had made this decision following reporting from The Guardian that claimed a unit in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) had been using its Azure cloud infrastructure to surveil people within Gaza and the West Bank. 

Smith wrote that Microsoft had looked into these claims and found evidence that support "elements" of what The Guardian had reported based on IMOD Azure usage in the Netherlands. 

"We therefore have informed the IMOD of Microsoft's decision to cease and disable specified IMOD subscriptions and their services, including their use of specific cloud storage and AI services and technologies," Smith wrote. 

"We have reviewed this decision with the IMOD and the steps we are taking to ensure compliance with our terms of service, focused on ensuring our services are not used for mass surveillance of civilians."

This isn't Microsoft fully pulling support for Israel, rather it halting some functionality that violated its term of service; the company is still supporting countries in the Middle East, including Israel, when it comes to cybersecurity per the Abraham Accords. 

Recently STJV members at Arkane Lyon demanded that Microsoft pull support for Israel.