Ireland: Watchdog accused of stalling probe into Microsoft hosting Israeli military app

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Ireland: Watchdog accused of stalling probe into Microsoft hosting Israeli military app Submitted by Areeb Ullah on Thu, 11/12/2026 - 11:10 Data monitor criticised over complaints…

Irish lawmakers are calling for an investigation into Ireland's data regulator over concerns that Microsoft's data centre campus outside Dublin hosts an app used by Israel to control the movements of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Last year, rights groups EKO and the Irish Centre for Civil Liberties (ICCL) filed a complaint with Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), raising concerns that Microsoft’s Grange Castle data centre was hosting elements of the Almunasseq app, used by the Israeli army to monitor Palestinians.

The DPC has still not given a definitive response to the rights groups over the status of the complaint.

Sinead Gibney, who serves in the Dail Eireann, the Irish parliament's lower house, said Microsoft's Irish data centres are "fuelling the crime of apartheid against Palestinians" in the West Bank and Gaza.

“Microsoft must be held accountable and I’ll be pushing for the Department of Enterprise to fully investigate this matter in light of the wealth of UN reports detailing the apartheid system," she told Middle East Eye.

"I'm calling on Microsoft to explain why it’s providing the Israeli government with the tools and technologies to sustain its system of apartheid – a system under which millions of Palestinians are being denied basic human rights."

The complaint was submitted on behalf of a Palestinian resident of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as a European Union citizen, based on evidence provided by a whistleblower.

Evidence seen by MEE and gathered by EKO and the ICCL showed that Israel used Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform to host elements of the Almunasseq app.

According to the complaint, Microsoft provides the “underlying” and “essential computer infrastructure” needed for the app to function, including cloud storage, database services and computing power. This means information collected from Palestinians using the app could be processed and stored on Microsoft’s infrastructure.

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