Activists occupy Microsoft data centre construction site

Dutch activists Geef Tegengas occupied and blocked access to a major Microsoft data centre construction site in Amsterdam, escalating a growing campaign against the tech giant’s role in Israel’s military and surveillance infrastructure. The protest targeted a €1 billion data centre project in the city's Western Docklands, where demonstrators accused Microsoft of profiting from technologies linked to the monitoring of Palestinians. The action follows investigations reporting that Microsoft's Azure cloud servers in the Netherlands were used to store vast quantities of communications and surveillance data collected by Israeli military intelligence. The project has also drawn criticism from local residents and environmental groups, who warn that the facility will place significant pressure on public infrastructure and consume as much electricity as the entire Dutch city of Haarlem.