Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#721

Post by tkel » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:58 PM UTC

amscanne wrote: post #713

kennywinker wrote: post #702

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the actual moral choice isn’t attacking blindly or mass surveillance of an occupied nation - it’s peace? Regardless, the death toll in gaza (somewhere between 45,000 and 600,000) suggests that this mass surveillance isn’t being used effectively to reduce the death toll. It also doesn’t take mass surveillance to know that bombing hospitals and schools is going to kill innocent people.

Even the Gaza Health Ministry claims only 68,000, so I presume that your 600,000 is a typo.

Gaza Health Ministry only counts those that show up at hospitals. The first big Lancet study a year ago estimated 200k. I've seen more recent studies estimate higher, with an additional year of killings.

Also, Israel has attacked or destroyed most hospitals in Gaza. So the Health Ministry's counting is obviously hindered.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#722

Post by catlover76 » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:05 PM UTC

n1b0m wrote: post #122

politelemon wrote: post #93

I am seeing several kneejerk "Microsoft bad" reactions here, which HNers don't do for many other companies. I encourage many of you to read what is written. They listened to their internal staff and stakeholders and public pressure, and did terminated the contract instead of ignoring it or doubling down. That is a good thing.

They fired staff who protested against the firm’s ties to the IDF.

I am deeply opposed to the Israeli military, and sympathetic to the cause of the employees, but as the other poster pointed out, they were legitimately fired.

Moreover, their actions didn't improve anything and only serve as further fodder for painting their side here as radical.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#723

Post by dudeinjapan » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:07 PM UTC

lioeters wrote: post #472

spongebobism wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chain of Custody Cakkavatti

Bodhisattva of Vibe Ops Infrachaos

Supreme Pontiff of Vendor Asset Tagging

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#724

Post by hashim » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:10 PM UTC

komali2 wrote: post #209

rashkov wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ICC did no such thing, you're probably thinking of the ICJ, which also did no such thing according to one of the judges that ruled on that decision: “I’m glad I have a chance to address that because the court’s test for deciding whether to impose measures uses the idea of plausibility. But the test is the plausibility of the rights that are asserted by the applicant, in this case South Africa” she told the BBC sh…

It is interesting to me that all this sweat and tears are spent deliberating over the use of a word in faraway courts while all of us can see with our eyes the horrors Palestinians are subjected to by the occupying IDF. "We didn't say there was a genocide! We acknowledged the plausibility of the possibility that potentially maybe an investigation might perhaps occur into the possibility of maybe Palestinians being ab…

The answer is simple - racism, same reason the Brits gave them the land in the first place when they knew it already had brown people on it that had been living there for almost a thousand years. How many deaths did it take for most Westerners and Western governments to start caring about Ukraine and start moving towards action? Barely a handful if any. How many deaths has Israel racked up since 1948 while the self-appointed human rights arbiters of the world wring their hands and say it's just not quite genocide yet?

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#725

Post by hashim » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:13 PM UTC

greenie_beans wrote: post #636

bArray wrote: post #97

The issue that people have with Israel's actions is the death of civilians, not the death of Hamas, the widely recognised terrorist. I believe it also to be true that the IDF do not want to kill civilians, and that their target is only Hamas. In which case, is it prudent to remove the IDF's ability to successfully target the correct people? Precise military intelligence is absolutely necessary for minimising civilian…

hasn't the death toll surpassed the number of hamas members?

What part don't you understand? EVERYONE is Hamas, including the several kids that Western doctors have testified to being hit by snipers, and the little girl named Hind Rajab that they shot 300 bullets into. And the hospitals? Crawling with Hamas.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#726

Post by mupuff1234 » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:13 PM UTC

basilgohar wrote: post #342

ars wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the fist place? That was 3,000 or so years ago.

There was never a country called Israel until 1948. It was always Palestine. The idea of a nation called Israel is the invention of Zionists in the 19th and 20th century.

You do realize all nations are man made inventions, right?

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#727

Post by amscanne » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:15 PM UTC

tkel wrote: post #721

amscanne wrote: post #713

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the Gaza Health Ministry claims only 68,000, so I presume that your 600,000 is a typo.

Gaza Health Ministry only counts those that show up at hospitals. The first big Lancet study a year ago estimated 200k. I've seen more recent studies estimate higher, with an additional year of killings. Also, Israel has attacked or destroyed most hospitals in Gaza. So the Health Ministry's counting is obviously hindered.

I don't believe that what you're saying is correct at all.

Only 34,344 of the GHM estimate are confirmed identities. The rest of either missing but presumed dead or gross adjustments. They are open about using "media reports to assess deaths in the north of Gaza".

The Lancet study published in January 2025 estimated 70,000 as of October, 2024. This is higher than the GHM estimate, but I can't find anything close to your 200k estimate.

So you may believe in your estimates, but they are many multiples larger than any other credible source that I can find... so it's odd to wave these figures around without any sources, links, etc.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#728

Post by Manuel_D » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:45 PM UTC

skinkestek wrote: post #126

computerex wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The word genocide has a legal definition, it’s not up for discussion or debate. What is happening in Gaza is a genocide according to genocide scholars.

It shouldn't be. But here we have UN and other twisting it to fit a situation that clearly weren't meant to be covered by it. Because if the war in Gaza can be called a genocide so can almost every single other major war! Also it is absolutely ridiculous to call a war that is started by one side, and one that only that side can end, a genocide against the same side that started it!

This is indeed a big obstacle to credibly calling the Israel-Palestine conflict a genocide. Germany lost ~10% of it's population in WW2. France lost 4% in WW1. Less than 1% of the Palestinian has been killed since Oct 7.

Heck, the US Revolutionary war saw the British perpetrated genocide against the Colonists if the military actions following Oct 7 count as a genocide.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#729

Post by hashim » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:46 PM UTC

nicce wrote: post #186

oulipo2 wrote: post #115

Too little too late, but anything we can do to stop this genocide...

I doubt it can be stopped anymore without physical intervetion.

At least, not without the Palestinians being virtually wiped out, cause that's how long we'll be waiting for Israel to do the right thing. We don't even know for sure how many are dead, but the vast majority of deaths during genocides are counted after it's over, least of all when there's so much rubble and so many whole families have been wiped out.

Re: Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its tech in mass surveillance of Palestinians

#730

Post by Manuel_D » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 11:48 PM UTC

computerex wrote: post #43

mrits wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

The word genocide has a legal definition, it’s not up for discussion or debate. What is happening in Gaza is a genocide according to genocide scholars.

The definition of genocide is absolutely up for debate. And even legal definition (presumably you mean UN definition) is highly subjective, too. Less than 1% of Palestinians have been killed since Oct 7. Germany saw 10% of its population killed in WW2. France lost 4% in WW1. Why the former is a genocide but not the latter two is a pretty big hole in the logic behind the allegations of genocide.