Amazon has dismissed a Palestinian engineer who was previously suspended for speaking out against the company’s collaboration with the Israeli government.

Ahmed Shahrour, a software engineer based in Seattle who worked for Amazon’s Whole Foods division, was informed of his termination via email on Monday. His suspension in September stemmed from messages he had shared on the company’s internal Slack platform criticizing Amazon’s partnership with Israel.

According to the company, an internal investigation concluded that Shahrour violated several corporate policies, including its standards of conduct and acceptable use policy. Amazon accused him of misusing company communication tools to post numerous messages unrelated to work, specifically those concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“You will receive an email within the next 24 hours detailing your termination, benefits, and final pay,” read a message from Amazon’s human resources department, obtained by CNBC. “We appreciate your contributions and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”

A statement from a worker coalition that supported Shahrour said he was fired after a five-week suspension “for protesting Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, known as Project Nimbus.” The group said Shahrour had criticized the project as a form of complicity in what he described as “the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Shahrour had previously distributed flyers and led peaceful demonstrations outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, urging the company to cancel its contract. Project Nimbus involves Amazon providing Israel with cloud computing, AI capabilities, and data infrastructure.

In his response to CNBC, Shahrour described his termination as “a blatant act of retaliation meant to silence Palestinian voices within Amazon and obscure the company’s collaboration with Israel from internal criticism.”

Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said in a statement that the company “does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behavior of any kind in the workplace.” He added, “When such conduct is reported, we investigate thoroughly and take appropriate action based on our findings.”

The timing of Shahrour’s firing coincided with a significant development in the Israel-Hamas conflict. On the same day, Hamas released seven Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered with U.S. President Donald Trump’s mediation. The deal also included Israel’s commitment to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners later that day.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. Israel’s subsequent military response has resulted in the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The controversy surrounding corporate involvement in the conflict has spread across the tech industry. Workers at major technology companies have become increasingly vocal about their opposition to contracts with the Israeli military.

Last week, Microsoft engineer Scott Sutfin-Glowski announced his resignation after 13 years with the company, stating that he could “no longer accept enabling what may be the worst atrocities of our time.” He cited reports indicating that the Israeli military holds hundreds of Microsoft subscriptions, many of which remain active.

In recent months, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all faced internal backlash from employees protesting their ties to Israel. Microsoft dismissed two employees in August for participating in a demonstration inside its offices, while Google terminated 28 workers in April 2024 over protests linked to Project Nimbus.

Although Amazon has avoided publicly discussing the specifics of its Nimbus contract, the company has said it provides technology “to customers wherever they are located.” Google has stated that its cloud services for the Israeli government do not involve “classified or military workloads,” and Microsoft has maintained that its work with Israel focuses mainly on cybersecurity and is conducted in an ethical manner.