Norway withdraws from Israel’s Bezek due to settlements in the West Bank

The decision by the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund was made late on Tuesday after its ethics committee adopted a new, stricter interpretation of ethical standards for business aid companies. Israel In the occupied Palestinian territories.

The $1.8 trillion fund is a global leader in… Investments Environmental, social and corporate governance. It owns 1.5 percent of the world’s listed shares of over 8,700 companies, and its size gives it influence.

Bezek is the largest group Communications in Israel. The company has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The Ethics Committee of the Norwegian Fund stated in its recommendation that he withdraw Investments “Through Bezek’s physical presence in… Israeli settlements in West coast By providing them with communication services, the company helps maintain and even expand these settlements, which are illegal under international law.

With that, the company itself contributes to the violation of international law,” he added.

The council said it noted that the company said it also provides communications services to Palestinian areas in the West Bank, but that does not negate the fact that it also provides services to Israeli settlements.

The council makes its recommendations to the Governing Board of the Norwegian Central Bank, which has the final say on the sale.

A solid policy

Sold Norwegian sovereign wealth fund All his shares in the company.

Before that, he reduced his stake in the first half of 2024, as he now held a 0.76 percent stake in the company, worth $23.7 million at the end of June, down from the 2.2 percent stake he had listed. in company data at the beginning of the year.

The Council’s letter to the Ministry of Finance dated August 30 states that one of the foundations of its new definition of moral injury is the conclusion of the International Court of Justice in July that “Israel’s settlement policy and the way Israel uses natural resources in the territories are not in accordance with International law“.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, the council has been investigating the presence of any other company that violates the guidelines allowed for investment.

Before publishing the withdrawal InvestmentsThe fund withdrew investments from nine companies operating in… Occupied West Bank.

Its operations include building roads and houses in Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and providing surveillance systems for Israel’s wall around the West Bank.