Norway votes down plan to limit investment in Israeli companies
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, fuelled by vast revenue from the country's oil and gas exports, is the biggest the world and has nearly $1.65 trillion invested around the globe.
The government though is under pressure to use its financial clout to influence Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where its settlement policy has been deemed illegal under international law.
In a letter signed by about 50 non-governmental organisations, Norway's main union LO called on the Labour government to ensure that the fund's investments were in line with the country's legal obligations.
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories on May 20 urged Oslo to "fully and unconditionally divest from all entities linked to Israel's unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory".
Francesca Albanese said Norway's fund held $121.5 billion -- or 6.9 percent of its total value -- in companies "involved in supporting or enabling egregious violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories".
Advertisement
Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg in response called for an end to violence, the liberation of Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 and the resumption of humanitarian aid.
But he said the fund's investments "do not violate Norway's obligations under international law".
The fund is regulated by a raft of ethical rules and has already divested from 11 companies because of their activities in the occupied West Bank.
In May, it withdrew its investment in Paz Retail and Energy, which distributes fuel in Israeli settlements.
Relations between Norway and Israel have soured since May 2024, when the country joined Spain and Ireland in recognising the state of Palestine
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Norway
17 hours ago
- Local Norway
European ministers slam Israel's Gaza control plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Friday greenlighted plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of domestic and international criticism. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the eight nations said the decision "will only aggravate the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages". They estimated the operation could lead to an "unacceptably high number of fatalities and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians", according to a copy of the statement released by Spain's foreign ministry. They also warned that the planned offensive and occupation of Gaza City would be "a major obstacle to implementing the two-state solution, the only path towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace". Besides Spain, the statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal and Slovenia. Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the strip. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision to seize Gaza City. Advertisement
Local Norway
a day ago
- Local Norway
Norway extradites Rwanda genocide suspect
Francois Gasana, 53, was detained in Norway in 2022 by police who said at the time Kigali had accused him of "committing a murder during the 1994 genocide". An Oslo court ruled the following year that conditions had been met for his extradition. An appeal was later rejected and his extradition confirmed in June this year. An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed over 100 days of slaughter triggered by the assassination of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana in April 1994. Rwanda's National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) spokesperson Faustin Nkusi confirmed that Gasana had returned to the country "following his extraction from the Kingdom of Norway". He was "convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison by Nyange Gacaca Court for his role in the crime of genocide," Nkusi said in a statement. In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwanda established the people's "gacaca" courts across the country, in which attackers faced their victims. Nkusi said that Gasana had lived during the genocide in Western Province and attended the Save Secondary school. But the statement gave no further details. He said that Gasana had found his own lawyer, explaining that upon a suspect's return "the Gacaca rulings are declared null and a trial starts afresh". It was unclear when the trial would begin. Nkusi praised Norway "for the extraction of genocide fugitives, continued cooperation in matters of mutual legal assistance and contribution to the global effort to fight impunity". Ahishakiye Naphtal, executive secretary of the genocide survivors' group, Ibuka, welcomed the news. Advertisement Gasana was a young man who "due to the genocide ideology he had been fed on... committed such heinous crimes," he said. However, he said that many more suspects remained at large abroad and urged other nations to act like Norway. Norwegian authorities confirmed the extradition, saying in a statement it was "in accordance with the final decision made by the king in council on 24 June 2025". Norway has seen a string of extradition requests for genocide suspects in recent years and is among half a dozen Western countries where courts have handed down convictions since 2009.
Local Norway
3 days ago
- Local Norway
Why Norway could face higher US trade costs than the EU
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, and Switzerland are the only European countries to have worse trade arrangements with the United States under tariff regimes now in place, according to new information obtained by business newspaper Dagens Næringsliv ( DN ). Norwegian goods are now subject to a general 15 percent tariff, on par with those levied on European Union (EU) nations, alongside an additional 50 percent surcharge on Norwegian steel and aluminium exports, under new US tariffs which took effect on Thursday. The tariffs on Norway come as the United States began charging higher tariffs on goods from dozens of trading partners Thursday. READ MORE: Norway among countries impacted as Trump tariffs take effect The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries confirmed to DN that Norway would be hit with a general 15 percent tariff, but that this is on top of the regular rates applied to so-called most favoured nations (MFN). These existing duties are projected at 3.4 percent in 2025, meaning an average rate of 18.4 percent for Norwegian goods, and potentially even higher for certain product groups, according to DN's report. Advertisement By contrast, the EU has secured an "all-inclusive" deal capping tariffs at 15 percent, with no additional charges. Conservative Party politician and former foreign minister Ine Eriksen Søreide told DN she is concerned that the government has not informed businesses that the new tariff comes in addition to the existing MFN duty. This could create greater uncertainty for Norwegian exporters and also leaves Norway with a significantly worse deal than the EU, Søreide said. The new US tariffs could have major consequences for businesses in northern Norway, business group the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) Arctic meanwhile said on Friday. 'Many local communities in northern Norway depend on exports. We have seen strong growth in export-oriented industries here in the north, which makes us highly vulnerable to any form of trade war,' regional director Sigrid Ina Simonsen told broadcaster NRK.
