Two Microsoft employees were fired on Wednesday after taking part in a sit-in at the office of company president Brad Smith, to protest against the firm’s ties to Israel, activist group No Azure for Apartheid said.

The two were among seven protesters arrested on Tuesday after occupying Smith’s office.

The activist group, referencing Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, is calling on the company to cut its ties to Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians.

Anna Hattle, one of the employees, said Microsoft was providing Israel with the “tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality”.