Microsoft Israel Head Steps Down Amid Inquiry into Military Dealings

The Leadership Shift at Microsoft Israel

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.

The Inquiry into Microsoft's Dealings with Unit 8200

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 inquiry found that Unit 8200, Israel's elite spy agency, used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store a vast trove of intercepted calls from Gaza and the West Bank.
• Microsoft concluded that its initial findings showed Unit 8200 had violated its terms of service, which prohibit the use of its technology to facilitate mass surveillance.

The Impact on Microsoft Israel

The Israeli business newspaper, Globes, reported on Monday that Haimovich's departure followed a major controversy at the subsidiary relating to violations of Microsoft's code of ethics.

• Several other managers had also left their positions.
• Haimovich was summoned by the inquiry team after they visited Microsoft Israel's offices near Tel Aviv.

The Future of Microsoft's Israel Operations

Haimovich did not respond to a request for comment. In an email to staff announcing his departure last week, he said he had positioned Israel as "one of Microsoft's fastest-growing markets worldwide".

Microsoft has previously said its senior executives such as Nadella were unaware Unit 8200 was using Azure to store intercepted Palestinian communications.