Hamid Khoshayand – Regional Affairs Expert
In the unequal war in Gaza, which has more than anything turned into a laboratory for advanced and all-out weapons, the role of American technology companies as the mighty arm of the Zionist regime is becoming increasingly prominent. These companies, which adorn themselves with ethical and humanitarian slogans, have directly participated in the crimes of the Zionist regime and the slaughter and suppression of Palestinians by providing lethal technologies, vital data, and surveillance platforms.
Although modern military and weaponry tools are more visible in this war, behind the scenes of the unprecedented crimes the Israeli regime commits with various tools and in diverse inhumane forms, there are other essential tools. The active presence of dozens of American technology companies that have provided their intelligence services to the Zionist regime for war and genocide in Gaza is not an issue that can be easily ignored.
For example, according to a report published some time ago by The Guardian, Microsoft has deep cooperation with the army of the Zionist regime. It plays a significant role in the slaughter of the people of Gaza. Leaked documents show that Microsoft’s cloud and artificial intelligence technologies are widely used, especially during the heavy bombings of Gaza.
Microsoft, which has now become one of the key partners of the Ministry of War of the Zionist regime and cooperates in sensitive and confidential projects with elite units such as Unit 8200 (Intelligence) and Unit 81 (Development of Espionage Technologies), has provided over 25,000 hours of support and advisory services to the Ministry of War of the Israeli regime since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, earning over $10 million in revenue.
Recently, Google also signed a $45 million contract with Netanyahu’s office to publish advertisements in favor of the Zionist regime. According to this contract, Google is obliged to publish Tel Aviv’s desired advertisements on virtual platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. Additionally, Google’s cloud division has provided the army of the Zionist regime with access to its artificial intelligence-based services.
Since January 2024, the artificial intelligence company OpenAI has also removed its restrictions on the prohibition of using its services for military activities for the army of the Zionist regime, so that the Zionists can use the company’s artificial intelligence services without restrictions.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, is another American company that, through agreements with the Israeli regime, in coordination with this regime, engages in widespread censorship and removal of posts related to developments in Palestine and their supporters under various pretexts. 95% of content related to the Zionist regime, under pressure from this regime, is considered under issues such as terrorism, violence, and incitement, and targets users in Arab countries, most of whom are Muslim. Meta has deleted over 130,000 posts in response to Zionist requests.
Furthermore, company X (formerly Twitter), through a $3 million contract, is set to provide its advertising capabilities in support of and to justify the actions of the Zionist regime in the Gaza war.
In total, American technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Meta, etc., by providing advanced technological services (cloud, artificial intelligence, data analysis, and communication services), play an indirect but vital role in supporting the security and military operations of the Zionist regime in the Gaza war. This partnership, although framed within commercial contracts, certainly has strategic consequences in the medium and long term, which may include creating legal and credit risks for these companies, as well as intensifying reactions from global civil society.
At the same time, this active partnership raises questions about these companies’ claims of neutrality and service delivery, and undermines user trust worldwide.
Given the performance and role of the mentioned companies in the Gaza war, it is not unlikely that in the near future we will witness the formation of a competing technology front; meaning that countries opposed to and critical of the Zionist regime and the United States will intensify investment in the development of indigenous and independent technology platforms and infrastructures to reduce their dependence on the Western technology ecosystem.
In any case, the continuation of the involvement of American technology companies in the Gaza war and providing service to the Zionist regime, without considering ethical and human rights considerations, could lead to a crisis of legitimacy and a collapse of popularity for the world’s largest technology giants.