Dozens of activists took over part of a plaza on Microsoft's campus for the second straight day on Wednesday, pressuring the company to cut ties with the Israeli government.

We will not stop, we will not rest, until you divest," chanted protesters, who set up an encampment protest in a newly renovated part of Microsoft's Redmond campus on Wednesday.

No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees protesting the Israeli military's use of the company's technology, held a similar protest on Tuesday for more than an hour before they dispersed.

The protest on Wednesday lasted about as long before Redmond police officers ordered the group to leave.

Eighteen protesters were arrested on various charges including trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest and obstruction, Redmond Police Department spokesperson Jill Green said in an emailed statement.

A Microsoft spokesperson said Wednesday the group vandalized and damaged company property and took tables from a lunchtime farmers' market in the plaza.

"Microsoft will continue to do the hard work needed to uphold its human rights standards in the Middle East, while supporting and taking clear steps to address unlawful actions that damage property, disrupt business or that threaten and harm others," the spokesperson said.

The protests this week are an escalation for the group, which interrupted multiple Microsoft-held events. Microsoft employees associated with the group have also been fired after disrupting speeches held by CEO Satya Nadella and other executives.

In May, No Azure for Apartheid attempted to breach a major conference held by Microsoft at the Seattle Convention Center.

The group has been consistent with its demands. It wants Microsoft to disclose and sever all ties with the Israeli government and military, especially in light of a report from The Guardian that a unit within the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's cloud computing technology to store data from surveilling Palestinians.

Microsoft said in May that it found no evidence that its technology was used to target people in the Israel-Hamas war.

Following The Guardian's most recent reporting, Microsoft said Friday it was conducting an independent review into how the Israeli military used its technology. The company said that storing surveillance data would violate its terms of service.

Nisreen Jaradat, who has worked at Microsoft as a tech support engineer for seven years, said Wednesday the company suspended her for six weeks in May after sending an email to co-workers accusing the company of filtering words involving the war in Gaza in email servers.

Jaradat, a Palestinian, said she’s not afraid to get fired for protesting on Wednesday.

"Employed or not employed, I'm going to continue speaking out against Microsoft complicity and the genocide of my people," she said.

Gaza's Health Ministry said this week that the Palestinian death toll has passed 62,000. Israel has rejected allegations that it's targeting civilians and pushing the population into starvation.

Abdo Mohamed, a No Azure for Apartheid organizer and former Microsoft tech worker, said Wednesday’s demonstration is a show of force. They want Microsoft to know they won’t back down.

"We cannot afford any moment of silence," he said. "We are telling people, unite your voice behind the voice of the workers.

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