BDS-1000 Dossier: Amazon

Target Profile

Executive Summary

Amazon’s documented involvement with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories spans cloud infrastructure, economic activity, and political engagement, producing a composite BRS score of 857 and placing the company in Tier A (Extreme). The primary vector of involvement is Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud services contract awarded to AWS and Google by the Israeli government in 2021, which explicitly serves the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defence Forces. The contract’s terms prohibit Amazon from restricting how any Israeli government agency, security service, or military unit uses cloud services, and include a secret “winking mechanism” for coded notifications to Israel when data is disclosed to foreign courts.

The digital domain (V-DIG) registers the highest score at 9.30, driven by AWS’s direct provision of cloud and AI/ML infrastructure to Israeli military and intelligence entities, the operation of the il-central-1 Israel Region, and documented relationships with Israeli defense manufacturers. Economic involvement (V-ECON) scores 8.50, reflecting the $7.2 billion infrastructure investment, settlement-origin products sold on Amazon’s marketplace, and differential shipping policies that favored Israeli settlements over Palestinian customers until 2020. Military involvement (V-MIL) scores 6.04, with documented IDF Unit 9900 usage of AWS for geospatial intelligence and strike planning. Political engagement (V-POL) scores 7.50, reflecting the company’s board composition including former NSA Director Keith Alexander, Project Nimbus contract provisions prohibiting service termination, and the termination of employees who protested the contract.

Notably, Amazon is not listed in the UN OHCHR settlement business database despite extensive documented involvement with settlements and defense. The company has not publicly terminated Project Nimbus despite sustained civil society pressure, including worker protests and shareholder resolutions. The Counter-Arguments section below presents Amazon’s strongest available defenses, including the civilian character of most AWS services, the absence of confirmed lethal weapons system development, and the company’s 2020 reversal of differential shipping policies.

Timeline of Relevant Events

Corporate Overview

Corporate Structure: Amazon.com Inc. is incorporated in Delaware, USA, with global headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The company operates two Israeli-domiciled subsidiaries: Amazon Web Services Israel Ltd (incorporated August 8, 2013, registration #514957737) and Amazon Data Services Israel Ltd (incorporated November 27, 2017, registration #515747087) ²¹³.

Israeli Operations: Amazon maintains R&D centers in Tel Aviv and Haifa focusing on cloud infrastructure, semiconductor/chip design, and machine learning. The AWS Israel Region launched in August 2023 with three data centers in Shoham, Tnuvot, and Har-Tov industrial zone near Beit Shemesh, representing a $7.2 billion planned investment through 2037.

Key Israeli Relationships:

• Project Nimbus: $1.2 billion cloud contract with Israeli government (2021–2028), serving Ministry of Defense, IDF, Israeli Police, and Israel Prison Service
• Defense Primes: AWS provides cloud services to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI/Elta), both state-owned weapons manufacturers
• Technology Vendors: Marketplace relationships with CyberArk, Check Point, SentinelOne, NICE Systems, Verint, Palo Alto Networks, and Cellebrite
• Acquisitions: Annapurna Labs (2015, ~$350M), Iguazio (2023)
• Attempted Acquisition: Wiz ($23 billion, mid-2024, declined)

Settlement Activity: Products from Achdut-Achva (Ariel settlement) and Hadiklaim (including Beit Ha’Arava packing house) are sold on Amazon.com through third-party marketplace sellers.

Domain Summaries

V-MIL: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

Amazon’s military involvement operates primarily through Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud services contract with the Israeli government awarded in 2021. The contract runs from May 2021 to May 2028 with an option to extend 132 additional months. The IDF was central to Project Nimbus from its inception, shaping the project’s design and serving as important users ¹⁴. The contract contractually forbids Amazon and Google from restricting how any Israeli government agency, security service, or military unit uses cloud services, and the companies cannot suspend or withdraw access even if terms are violated ⁴.

IDF Unit 9900, responsible for geospatial intelligence, used AWS cloud services and aided in planning strikes in Gaza, with evidence including username patterns in AWS system logs showing “9900” ⁵. The Israeli Ministry of Defense Central Command purchased access to Amazon Rekognition facial recognition tool including for an open-source intelligence project ⁵. The state-operated Soreq Nuclear Research Center was confirmed as an Amazon customer through Project Nimbus ⁵.

AWS operates the il-central-1 region in Israel (Tel Aviv) with three availability zones in Truvot, Shoham, and Beit Shemesh, launched in August 2023, representing a $7.2 billion planned investment through 2037 ¹⁵⁵. AWS documentation confirms the il-central-1 (Israel) region supports Snowball Edge and Snow Family devices, which provide storage and compute capabilities for tactical situations ¹⁶.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems purchased generative AI tools through AWS including Anthropic’s Claude and Amazon’s Titan LLM via the Bedrock service in 2024-2025 ⁵. Israel Aerospace Industries is required to use AWS and Google cloud per Project Nimbus tender requirements ⁵¹¹. The IDF uses AWS to store mass surveillance data on the Gaza population including billions of audio files, with Israeli intelligence sources confirming “the cloud has information on everyone” ³¹⁷.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Amazon’s strongest defense is that AWS provides general-purpose cloud infrastructure—compute, storage, and AI/ML platforms—rather than weapons systems or lethal technology. The company has not been identified as a prime contractor or licensed manufacturer of lethal weapons platforms. All documented military use involves AWS’s core cloud services, which have broad civilian applications.

No public evidence identifies Amazon developing, selling, licensing, or maintaining offensive cyber capabilities, zero-day exploit tools, or digital weapons systems ¹³. Specific operational applications of AWS services within Israeli military workflows have not been publicly disclosed by Amazon ¹¹. The company has not confirmed that AI services supplied under Project Nimbus have been applied to military targeting or surveillance operations.

Amazon is not included in the UN OHCHR settlement business database despite extensive documented involvement with settlements and defense ⁹. The company has faced sustained worker opposition, which may indicate internal disagreement about the contract’s scope.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-DIG: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Amazon’s digital involvement with Israel is extensive and represents the highest-scoring domain at 9.30. The primary mechanism is Project Nimbus, which provides cloud computing, storage, AI/ML platforms, and managed services to Israeli government ministries and agencies, explicitly including the Ministry of Defence and IDF ¹⁵¹¹. The contract includes Amazon SageMaker for machine learning model training and deployment infrastructure and Amazon Bedrock for foundation model access.

The AWS Israel Region (il-central-1) launched in August 2023 in Tel Aviv with three Availability Zones, marketed explicitly for local data residency, low-latency access, and compliance with Israeli data sovereignty requirements ²¹³. AWS Bedrock became available in the Israel Region in September 2025 ¹⁸.

Amazon’s enterprise technology stack incorporates multiple Israeli-origin security and software vendors through AWS Marketplace: CyberArk (Petah Tikva), Check Point (Tel Aviv), SentinelOne (co-founded by Israeli entrepreneurs), NICE Systems, Verint, and Palo Alto Networks ^19202113. Amazon partnered with Trigo Vision in July 2022 to deploy autonomous, cashierless checkout technology in Amazon Fresh grocery stores ⁵.

Amazon acquired Israeli semiconductor startup Annapurna Labs in January 2015 for approximately $350 million, whose ARM-based system-on-chip designs directly powered the AWS Graviton processor family and AWS Nitro system-on-chip ¹. Amazon acquired Israeli MLOps platform Iguazio in April 2023 ⁶. Amazon attempted to acquire Israeli cloud security company Wiz for approximately $23 billion in mid-2024; Wiz declined the offer ¹⁰.

Keith Alexander, a retired four-star U.S. Army general, former NSA Director (2005-2014) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command (2010-2014), served on Amazon’s Board of Directors from September 2020 to April 2026, chairing the board’s Security Committee ²²²³.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Amazon’s defense in the digital domain rests on several points. First, all documented relationships with Israeli technology vendors exist at marketplace, distribution, or partner-facing levels—Amazon does not embed Israeli-origin technology in its core internal enterprise security stack ¹³. Second, no public evidence identifies Amazon holding vendor, licensing, or partnership relationships with Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, or Israel Aerospace Industries ²⁴. Third, no public evidence identifies Amazon’s AI models being trained on civilian population data, intercepted communications, or surveillance-derived datasets from Israel or occupied Palestinian territories ¹³. Fourth, no public evidence identifies Amazon providing autonomous target generation, automated threat detection for weapons deployment, or autonomous tracking systems to Israeli military ¹¹.

The Trigo Vision partnership is for civilian retail technology (cashierless checkout), not surveillance or military applications. The Annapurna Labs and Iguazio acquisitions were commercial technology acquisitions with no documented connection to Project Nimbus or military use.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-ECON: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

Amazon’s economic involvement with Israel is substantial, scoring 8.50. AWS committed $7.2 billion (ILS 26.6 billion) to the AWS Israel Region through 2037, representing one of the largest single foreign investments in Israeli history. This investment supports approximately 7,700 full-time equivalent jobs annually and is projected to contribute ILS 51.7 billion to Israel’s GDP ¹⁵¹².

The Project Nimbus contract provides cloud services to multiple Israeli government ministries including the Ministry of Defense, Israeli military, Israel Police, and Israel Prison Service ⁴²². AWS provides cloud services to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI/Elta), both state-owned Israeli weapons manufacturers, during the 2024-2025 period ⁵.

Amazon offers products from Achdut-Achva, an Israeli food company based in the Ariel West Industrial Zone in the West Bank settlement, on its online platform ²⁴. Products from Hadiklaim, which operates a packing house in the Beit Ha’Arava settlement, are sold on Amazon.com through third-party marketplace sellers under “from Israel” origin labels ²⁴²⁵.

Between 2019 and 2020, Amazon offered free shipping to Israeli settlements in the West Bank while charging Palestinian customers $24 for the same service, with the policy reversed in March 2020 following public criticism ³.

The DBIO V report (November 2025) lists Amazon among 104 companies with documented involvement in the “economy of occupation” ¹⁴.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Amazon’s economic defenses include several significant points. First, the company reversed its differential shipping policy in March 2020, ending the practice of charging Palestinian customers more than settlement customers ³. Second, Amazon is not listed in the UN OHCHR Settlement Business Database (September 2025), which contains 158 business enterprises involved in settlement activity ¹⁶²⁶. Third, the relationship between Amazon and Hadiklaim appears indirect—products reach Amazon’s platform via third-party marketplace sellers rather than direct procurement contracts ²⁵. Fourth, no public evidence was identified confirming direct commercial contracts between Amazon and Israeli agricultural aggregators for direct procurement.

The $7.2 billion AWS Israel Region investment is general infrastructure spending with broad economic benefits, not specifically directed at settlement activity or military production. Amazon is not listed among the seven lead underwriters of Israeli sovereign bonds, and no public evidence was identified of Amazon holding direct positions in Israeli sovereign bonds or Israeli-domiciled investment funds through its corporate treasury.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

V-POL: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Amazon’s political involvement scores 7.50, driven by board composition, contract terms, and corporate responses to civil society pressure. Keith Alexander, former NSA Director and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, served on Amazon’s Board of Directors from September 2020 to April 2026, chairing the Security Committee ¹⁵. Jamie Gorelick, a former Deputy Attorney General of the United States and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense, serves on Amazon’s Board and the Defense Policy Board ¹⁶.

The Project Nimbus contract contains explicit “no boycott” provisions prohibiting AWS and Google from halting services due to boycott pressure and from denying service even if Israel violates terms of service ¹³. A secret “winking mechanism” requires Amazon and Google to send hidden signals to the Israeli government when data is disclosed to foreign law enforcement authorities ¹.

In September 2025, Amazon suspended Palestinian-American software engineer Ahmed Shahrour, and in October 2025, the company terminated his employment following internal communications in which Shahrour protested Amazon’s work with the Israeli military, specifically Project Nimbus ⁹. Amazon’s political action committee contributed $8.19 million during the 2024 election cycle ²². The company spent $19.14 million on federal lobbying in 2024 ¹².

CEO Andy Jassy publicly declared the October 2023 attacks on civilians in Israel “shocking” and stated the company would support relief efforts ². No comparable public statement addressing Palestinian civilian harm in Gaza has been identified in corporate communications ⁸².

The UN Special Rapporteur’s report A/HRC/59/23 (July 2025) names Amazon among technology companies providing tools and technologies that support Israeli military operations in Gaza ⁶. Investor proposals requesting reports on human rights due diligence for Amazon’s Israel-related contracts were excluded from shareholder voting in 2024-2025 following SEC no-action letter determinations ⁷.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Amazon’s political defenses include the civilian character of its primary business, the reversibility of past problematic policies, and the absence of direct political advocacy for Israeli settlement expansion. The company reversed its differential shipping policy in 2020, ending the practice that disadvantaged Palestinian customers. Amazon discontinued the AmazonSmile program in 2023, which had donated 0.5% of eligible purchases to charitable organizations including Israeli entities ²³.

The board composition of former defense and intelligence officials reflects Amazon’s broader government contracting business (including the JEDI contract competition), not specifically Israeli policy advocacy. No public evidence identifies Amazon lobbying specifically for Israeli government positions or settlement-friendly policies.

The termination of employees who protested Project Nimbus, while documented, occurred after sustained internal advocacy and may reflect general corporate policies on internal dissent rather than specifically anti-Palestinian action.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

BDS-1000 Score (V4)

• V_MAX: 9.30 (V-DIG)
• Sum_OTHERS: 22.04
• BRS Score: 857
• Tier: A (Extreme)

The V_MAX of 9.30 in the digital domain reflects Amazon’s direct provision of cloud and AI/ML infrastructure to Israeli military and intelligence entities through Project Nimbus, combined with the company’s extensive Israeli technology ecosystem integration through acquisitions, partnerships, and marketplace relationships. The tier classification as Extreme results from the combination of a very high V_MAX and substantial involvement across all four domains, with particular weight given to the digital domain’s direct military-intelligence service provision.

The methodology uses scale-free Impact (activity type), Magnitude (scale of involvement), and Proximity (directness) scoring, with evidence-only assessment from the four domain audits. Divested or exited operations receive temporal mitigation, and entity attribution follows direct involvement principles without transitive guilt.

Methodology Note

• Evidence-Only Framework: All scores derive from documented evidence in the four domain audits (V-MIL, V-DIG, V-ECON, V-POL). Claims are traced to specific audit sources; “No public evidence identified” is used where checks found nothing.
• Scale-Free Scoring: Impact (I) measures activity type (from civilian commerce to lethal weapons support); Magnitude (M) measures scale of involvement; Proximity (P) measures directness to the Israel/Palestine context.
• Temporal Rule: Divested or exited operations receive mitigation; Amazon’s 2020 reversal of differential shipping policy reflects this principle.
• Entity Attribution: No transitive guilt—only direct corporate relationships count. The defense prime relationships (Rafael, IAI) are documented direct AWS customers, not assumed based on government contract scope alone.
• Settlement Operations: Settlement-origin product sales and settlement logistics (differential shipping) count in both V-ECON and V-POL where applicable.
• Vetting Standard: This dossier follows the human vetting standard applied during score development: soft claims were not hardened, fabricated allegations were rejected, and exculpatory findings are presented alongside incriminating evidence.

End Notes