Amazon fires Paltestinian software engineer for protesting company's ties with Israel

Amazon

Amazon has fired Ahmed Shahrour, a Palestinian software engineer in its Whole Foods division, following his month-long suspension for speaking out against the company’s ties with Israel. According to a report by CNBC, Shahrour received official notice of his termination on Monday, ending his time at Amazon with a message outlining final pay and benefits details.

The conflict began in September, when Shahrour publicly criticised Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government—called Project Nimbus—on internal company channels and by distributing flyers at the Seattle headquarters. Project Nimbus, a major partnership also involving Google, provides the Israeli government and military with AI tools, cloud infrastructure, and data services.

Amazon justified its decision by citing violations of standards of conduct, use of company resources, and communication guidelines, claiming Shahrour posted numerous non-work-related messages about the Israel-Palestine conflict on company platforms. A representative said that Amazon “does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behaviour or language of any kind," as per the report.

Supporters of Shahrour, including an employee coalition, allege the termination is a targeted act of retaliation meant to silence dissent, especially from Palestinian voices protesting corporate involvement in the ongoing war in Gaza. Shahrour himself has described the move as designed to quash internal scrutiny of Amazon’s controversial contracts, according to the report.

The termination coincided with the release of seven Israeli hostages by Hamas as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered with help from U.S. President Donald Trump and the planned release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees by Israel.

Big Tech’s dealings with the Israeli military have sparked increasing unrest among employees, with Microsoft and Google also seeing resignations and firings linked to similar protests. All three companies insist their work with Israel adheres to broadly applied ethical guidelines and mostly involves commercial-grade technology rather than direct combat support.