\n A protest was held outside the Amazon Spheres over the company’s links with Israel [Getty]<\/p>\n
An pro-Palestinian activist group focused on tech giant Amazon has pledged to intensify its campaign over what it describes as the company\u2019s complicity in the genocidal war in Gaza<\/a>\u00a0and its ties to Israel.<\/p>\n Speaking to\u00a0The New Arab, a representative from Amazon Worker Intifada called on the online retail giant to\u00a0disclose\u00a0its links with Israel, sever contracts with the Israeli military, and protect pro-Palestinian speech within the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n The comments followed a recent demonstration outside the Amazon Spheres in Seattle, where activists urged the company to stop providing technology to Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the group, activists sought to disrupt a gathering of Amazon executives, local and state officials, US State Department representatives, and Australian government delegates on an upper floor of the Spheres on the eve of a World Cup<\/a> match between the US and Australia last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n “So the previous action we had is not because of FIFA, it’s because Amazon was lobbying government officials that were coming to the match,” a representative for Amazon Worker Intifada said.\u00a0<\/p>\n They added: “Amazon wanted to lobby them to get more contracts and to get favorable policies for their operations, and we wanted to disrupt that day.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The group has since vowed to “use any means necessary in order to pressure the executives and force them to drop their contracts.”<\/p>\n The representative added that this could include “protesting and blocking attendees from entering a lobbying event\u2026 or it could be even disrupting meetings directly from inside infiltrating.”<\/p>\n They continued: “It may not coincide with the [FIFA World Cup]. Whatever means necessary that we have any information that we have, we will use if we think that it will harm them, it will damage their image profitability or operations. We will do just that.”<\/p>\n In a statement to Seattle-based tech outlet\u00a0GeekWire, Amazon said the event taking place during the protest was attended by members of Seattle\u2019s business and sports communities, Australian parliamentarians, and Amazon employees celebrating the World Cup.<\/p>\n The company also said a separate meeting had concluded before the protests began, without specifying attendees.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We respect individuals\u2019 rights to engage in peaceful public demonstrations,\u201d Amazon spokesperson Montana MacLachlan told\u00a0GeekWire, adding that the company is “committed to being a responsible corporate citizen in the Puget Sound region, Washington state, and every community we serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Amazon Worker Intifada said its campaign targets the company\u2019s contracts with Israel, including Project Nimbus<\/a>, a $1.2bn deal awarded to Amazon and Google in 2021 to provide cloud and AI services to the Israeli government, military, and defence-related suppliers, according to leaked documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n