WASHINGTON: Redmond police arrested seven protesters on Tuesday after a sit-in at the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith in Washington. The demonstration was part of an escalating campaign by the group “No Azure for Apartheid” — which includes current and former Microsoft employees — over what it describes as the company’s complicity in alleged Israeli war crimes through its Azure cloud services. During the sit-in, which included demands that the tech giant sever ties with the Israeli military, demonstrators entered Building 34 and occupied Smith’s office.

Current and former Microsoft employees performed a sit-in protest inside vice chair and president Brad Smith’s office.

The incident is the latest escalation by current and former employees who are demanding the company end its cloud contracts with Israel.