AWS and Google will not be able to boycott providing services to the Israeli Government, in part or whole, under the terms of a recently won contract.
Google and AWS recently jointly won a $1.2 billion contract - known as the Nimbus Project - to serve as the cloud providers for much of the Israeli government. Among the agencies set to be supported is the IDF, as well as the Israel Land Authority.
The Times of Israel reports that the terms of the contract include provisions that prevent the two companies from halting services to the Government.
When asked if the companies could shut down services, attorney Zviel Ganz of the legal department at the Finance Ministry said such scenarios had been taken into consideration when formulating the tenders.
“According to the tender requirements, the answer is no,” he said, adding that the contracts also bar the firms from denying services to particular government entities.
Earlier this month more than 250 employees at Google sent a letter to the company’s executive team asking for the termination of contracts with "institutions that support Israeli violations of Palestinian rights," including the Israel Defense Forces.
Both companies are currently developing data centers in Israel, and are due for completion in the next two years. Cloud services will be provided by Google and Amazon AWS data centers in Ireland, Holland, and Germany in the interim, with the data migrated to the Israeli facilities when ready.
Though a ceasefire has been declared, more than 250 people were killed during 11 days of conflict between Israel and Palestine, the vast majority in Gaza. Buildings targeted by Israeli airstrikes included the Gaza tower housing Associated Press and Al Jazeera offices, claiming the building was also used by the Islamist militant group Hamas.