Norway wealth fund divests from several Israeli companies due to Gaza war
The announcement on Monday came after an urgent review launched last week after media reports said the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's military, including the maintenance of fighter jets, as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and the Palestinian population rages.
The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank and the world's largest, held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30 but in recent days divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement.
'We have now completely sold out of these positions,' the fund said, adding that it is continuing to review Israeli companies for potential divestments.
'These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis,' Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said in a statement.
'We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence.'
The fund stated that it has 'long paid particular attention to companies associated with war and conflict'.
'We constantly monitor companies' risk management related to conflict zones and respect for human rights,' it said.
The Norwegian government began its review after Aftenposten, the country's leading newspaper, revealed that the fund had a stake in Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL), which provides parts to Israeli fighter jets that are being deployed in the war on Gaza.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had said at the time that the investment was 'worrying'.
The sovereign fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecommunications group in the past year.
In June, Norway's largest pension fund also decided to sever its ties with companies doing business with Israel. That same month, however, Norway's parliament rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in occupied Palestinian territory.
Several of Europe's biggest financial firms have cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country, according to an analysis of filings by the Reuters news agency, as pressure mounts from activists and governments to end the war in Gaza.
Last month, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, called on countries to cut off all trade and financial ties with Israel, including a full arms embargo, and withdraw international support for what she termed an 'economy of genocide'.
In a report titled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, Albanese detailed 'the corporate machinery sustaining Israel's settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory'.
The report singled out companies – including arms manufacturers, technology giants, heavy machinery companies and financial institutions – for their 'complicity' in Israel's repression of Palestinians from sustaining Israeli expansions onto occupied land to enabling the surveillance and killings of Palestinians.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine sends reserves to stop Russian advance in east amid diplomatic push
Ukraine's military has sent reserves to stem Russian advances near two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region, as Moscow attempts to gain more territory before a meeting between its leader Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump in Alaska Friday, where land swap issues to end the war will be focal. The Ukrainian General Staff said on Tuesday that its forces were involved in 'difficult' fighting close to Pokrovsk and Dobropillia, with the extra soldiers needed to block attacks by small groups of Russian troops. The development suggests intensifying struggles in the eastern Donetsk area, where Moscow-backed separatists have mainly held sway since conflict there erupted there 2014, instigated by the Kremlin and deepened by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some of the advancing clusters of Russian soldiers had been destroyed, while others were still being engaged in combat, it added. Russia's advance is one of the most dramatic in the past year, with its soldiers infiltrating 17km (10 miles) past Ukrainian lines over the last three days, according to Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group. Moscow, which has further isolated the destroyed town of Kostiantynivka, one of the last remaining urban areas Ukraine holds in the Donetsk, hopes to encircle the nearby city of Pokrovsk. 'A lot will depend on availability, quantity and quality of Ukrainian reserves,' Paroinen wrote on X Monday. Ukraine's DeepState blog, which has close connections to the Ukrainian military, described the situation as 'quite chaotic', as Russian troops are 'infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement'. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based research group, said Moscow's advances in the Dobropillia area did not yet amount to 'an operational-level breakthrough'. The Russian advance in eastern Ukraine comes as Europe hopes to rally Trump to Ukraine's cause at an emergency virtual summit on Wednesday. Organised by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the meetings are due to be attended by EU leaders, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ahead of the talks, the EU said on Tuesday that it welcomed the US president's efforts 'towards ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine', but emphasised that 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine' and 'international borders must not be changed by force'. Trump had earlier disappointed his European allies by saying that Ukraine and Russia will have to accept land swaps if peace is to be achieved. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is 'not preparing to end the war', despite Friday's scheduled meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska. 'On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations,' he wrote on X. In other developments, Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency said it had successfully targeted a building in Russia's Tatarstan region, 1,300 km (800 miles) from Ukraine, which contained long-range Shahed drones. Videos shot by local residents confirmed that the facility was hit, the SBU added, noting that it was the second such strike from distance in four days.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Mali soldiers arrested over coup allegations: What we know
Tensions are high in Mali's capital, Bamako, after the arrests of dozens of soldiers in recent days, including two high-ranking generals. Although shops and offices stayed open on Tuesday, residents, including one journalist, told Al Jazeera the atmosphere there is uneasy. Mali's military government has so far remained silent about the spate of arrests. However, unofficial reports said the soldiers are being detained for their alleged involvement in a coup plot that aimed to overthrow General Assimi Goita's government. The landlocked West African country, located in the semiarid Sahel region, is embroiled in a myriad of political and security crises. The recent arrests, analysts said, mark the first time the military is cracking down on soldiers within its ranks on suspicion of a coup. Here's what you need to know about the arrests: Who was arrested and why? Conflicting reports have emerged since the arrests over the weekend and on Monday. Reports by the French news channel RFI put the number of arrested soldiers at at least 50 while the Reuters news agency reported 36 to 40 soldiers have been detained. Two generals are reportedly among them. Abass Dembele, a former military governor of the northern region of Mopti, was arrested on Sunday morning in his home in Kati, a garrison town just outside Bamako, according to RFI. Dembele is popular among Malian soldiers and has a reputation as an officer who often leads from the front. He was active in the northern war of 2012, a civil war that broke out after Tuareg separatists parlayed with armed groups to seize more than 60 percent of the country. The failure of the Malian army to push the rebels back prompted France to deploy thousands of soldiers. Air force General Nema Sagara is another top official believed to be detained. Sagara is one of the few high-ranking female military officials in Mali and throughout the region. She is also one of the few female Malian officers to have been drafted into battle when she fought in the civil war of 2013. Al Jazeera, however, could not independently confirm the veracity of the reports. What is happening in Mali? Since 2012, Mali's army has battled a swarm of armed groups in the north, including Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in the greater Sahara (ISGS). The fighting has resulted in thousands of deaths while up to 350,000 people are currently displaced, according to Human Rights Watch. Several northern towns in rebel-held territory are under siege by the armed groups, limiting food, fuel and medical supplies. The groups operate in the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger border area. Promising to end the violence, then-Colonel Goita, 41, took power in two successive coups in 2020 and 2021. He was sworn in as transitional president in June 2021. Under his control, the country severed ties with its former coloniser, France, and thousands of French soldiers involved in the fight against the armed groups exited the country. The military rulers have since turned to Russian private mercenaries and military officials under the Wagner Group and Africa Corps. The army and the Russians have recorded wins but also heavy losses. What has the military government said? The military government has not put out an official statement stating the reasons for the arrests. RFI quoted an unnamed Malian senior military officer close to the government as saying the soldiers were arrested because 'they wanted to destabilise the transition,' referring to the military government, which calls itself a transitional government that is expected eventually to hand over power to a civilian administration. Many of those arrested were confirmed by RFI to be members of the national guard. The special unit is headed by Defence Minister and General Sadio Camara. In elite military circles in Bamako, Camara is increasingly seen as a rival to Goita although they were both part of the team of coup leaders who seized power. The rifts inside the military come as some of Goita's policies have begun to irk many, both in the military and among civilians. This week's arrests, some critics said, are the strongest sign yet that the military's control is weakening from the inside. While Goita is the head of state, he appears not to have complete control over the armed forces, analysts said. Due to the reported cracks, the military government will want to project a strong image, hence its silence, Beverly Ochieng, a Sahel analyst with the intelligence firm Control Risks, told Al Jazeera. '[These arrests] indicate some pronounced divisions,' Ochieng said. 'Quite a few red lines have been crossed in recent months, and people are bound to be tired. It is likely that the military leadership will maintain and project a united front to downplay vulnerabilities and internal rivalries.' Is there a crackdown on dissent? Critics said Goita's recent policies appear to attack dissenters and aim to shrink the civic space in the troubled country. Goita's government, for example, approved a bill in July that would allow him to seek a five-year presidential mandate, renewable 'as many times as necessary' and without requiring an election. Earlier, when it seized power, the military promised to hand over power to civilians in 2024. In May, the military government dissolved political parties and organisations and banned political meetings, drawing condemnation from opposition politicians and rights groups. In addition, the military government has targeted outspoken critics. This month, former Prime Minister Moussa Mara was arrested and charged with 'undermining the credibility of the state' after he visited political prisoners and posted about seeking justice for them. 'As long as the night lasts, the sun will obviously appear!' Mara had written on July 4 in a social media post, adding: 'We will fight by all means for this to happen as soon as possible!' Choguel Maiga, who was the prime minister until his ouster in November, has also accused Goita's government of targeting him. Although Maiga was once a champion of the government, he became critical of Goita this year. In July, the government accused him of fraud and embezzlement during his time in office and launched an investigation. What else is fuelling anger in the country? Alongside the political situation, a lack of security remains rife in the country, causing frustration among many Malians. Several armed groups continue to operate in the north, including JNIM. Human Rights Watch (HRW) blames the military forces and their Russian counterparts for targeting civilians indiscriminately on the assumption that they work with armed groups. At least 12 men from the Fulani ethnic group appear to have been executed and 81 forcibly disappeared since January, HRW said in a report. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which are also military led, banded together to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) this year after they withdrew from the Economic Community of West African also created a 5,000-strong force for joint military operations to try to drive out armed groups. Separately, the Malian army is once again battling Tuareg separatists. Although there were peace agreements made after the 2012 war that allowed the northern region of Kidal to maintain a semiautonomous nature, the military government under Goita has torn up the peace deals and returned to fighting, forcing hundreds of people to flee across the border to Mauritania. In late July, Malian forces said they killed 70 'terrorists' in a raid in the north without specifying if those killed were with an armed group or were separatists.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Australia to recognise Palestinian statehood; New Zealand may follow
agencies canberra Australia will recognise a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, drawing condemnation from Israel. Albanese said on Monday that his government would formally announce the move when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meets in New York. 'A two-state solution is humanity's best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,' Albanese said at a news conference in Canberra. Australia's announcement comes as Canada, France and the United Kingdom are also preparing to formally recognise Palestine at the meeting next month, joining the vast majority of UN member states that already do so. Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said recognition of a Palestinian state will do nothing to end the war in Gaza, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): 'We reject the recognition, unilateral recognition.' Israeli President Isaac Herzog also slammed the Australian announcement as a reward for Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, repeating the Israeli government's stance on all recognition announcements thus far. This latest recognition comes about a week after hundreds of thousands of Australians marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to protest Israel's war in the Gaza Strip. Speaking a day after the protest, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong told ABC that 'there is a risk there will be no Palestine left to recognise.' 'In relation to recognition, I've said for over a year now, it's a matter of when, not if,' Wong added. The opposition Liberal Party criticised the move, saying it put Australia at odds with the United States, its closest ally, and reversed a bipartisan consensus that there should be no recognition while Hamas remains in control of Gaza. Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday that his country's cabinet will make a formal decision on Palestinian statehood in September. 'Some of New Zealand's close partners have opted to recognise a Palestinian state, and some have not,' Peters said in a statement. 'Ultimately, New Zealand has an independent foreign policy, and on this issue, we intend to weigh up the issue carefully and then act according to New Zealand's principles, values and national interest.'
