SAEDNEWS: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest has divested from several Israeli companies in response to Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza and its crimes in the West Bank.
The $1.9 trillion fund, officially known as Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), announced it has sold its holdings in 11 Israeli companies not included in the finance ministry’s equity benchmark index, which guides the fund’s performance. Additionally, it is terminating all contracts with external managers based in Israel.
“These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis. We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened,” NBIM Chief Executive Officer said on Monday.
The fund held stock in 61 Israeli companies as of the end of June this year.
According to the statement, the fund will remain invested in some but not all of the Israeli companies in the index.
The Monday announcement follows an urgent review ordered by Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg after media reports said last week that the fund had invested in Israeli Bet Shemesh Engines Holdings, which provides services to Israeli fighter jets used to attack Gaza.
Norway officially recognized Palestine as a state last year, as the Israeli regime intensified the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has launched a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance fighters waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the Zionist entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of death and devastation against Palestinians.
Israel has killed at least 61,499 Palestinians there so far, mostly women and children.
