Amazon

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Amazon.com, Inc. (doing business as Amazon) is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, entertainment, and artificial intelligence. Amazon maintains a close and direct relationship with the Israeli defense establishment and military. This partnership is primarily facilitated through its tech arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS). Based on public reports and investigative journalism: In 2021, Amazon (in partnership with Google) secured a $1.2 billion contract to build a comprehensive cloud infrastructure for the Israeli government. The Israeli Ministry of Defense and the military are among the primary stakeholders and architects designed to benefit from this project since its inception. The contract includes a legal clause that strictly prohibits Amazon and Google from suspending services or blocking any Israeli government or military entity from utilizing the cloud for any reason. Investigative reports (such as those by +972 Magazine and The Guardian) revealed that the Israeli military relies on AWS servers to store vast amounts of mass surveillance and intelligence data related to the Gaza Strip. Amazon’s cloud platform provides advanced computing capabilities, artificial intelligence tools, and big data processing. These are integrated into the technical systems of the Digital Technology and Communications Directorate within the Israeli Ministry of Defense to accelerate operations. Government agreements mandate that major state-owned defense companies in Israel (such as Israel Aerospace Industries - IAI, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems) utilize Amazon and Google's cloud to meet their software and operational needs for manufacturing military hardware, including drones and missile systems. Leaked contract terms disclosed that Amazon and Google agreed to exceptional conditions requiring them to notify the Israeli government via classified codes (referred to as a "winking mechanism") if any foreign court or government (including the U.S.) requests access to data stored on the Israeli cloud. This ensures that military and security data remains protected from external oversight. -- Listed on NASDAQ (AMZN), Amazon.com Inc is backed by leading sovereign wealth funds, most notably NBIM, GIC, Temasek and PIF.