Latest news with #Israeli investments
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Norway wealth fund excludes six companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following an ethics review of its Israeli investments. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public, along with specific reasons for each company, once the divestment was completed. The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The fund's ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter. Exclusions from the fund are based on recommendations from the fund's ethics watchdog. The fund had also separately sold stakes in several other companies that were not part of the ethics review, it said, following a decision last week to only hold stakes in Israeli companies that are part of the fund's benchmark index. As of August 14, the fund had 19 billion crowns ($1.86 billion) invested in 38 companies listed in Israel, it said, noting this was a reduction of 23 companies since June 30. The number of companies will decline further once the six ethics-based divestments are made, it said. The fund announced last Monday that it was terminating contracts with all three of its external asset managers who handled some of its Israeli investments. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. ($1 = 10.1932 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Norway wealth fund excludes six companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
COPENHAGEN, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following an ethics review of its Israeli investments. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public, along with specific reasons for each company, once the divestment was completed. The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The fund's ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter. Exclusions from the fund are based on recommendations from the fund's ethics watchdog. The fund had also separately sold stakes in several other companies that were not part of the ethics review, it said, following a decision last week to only hold stakes in Israeli companies that are part of the fund's benchmark index. As of August 14, the fund had 19 billion crowns ($1.86 billion) invested in 38 companies listed in Israel, it said, noting this was a reduction of 23 companies since June 30. The number of companies will decline further once the six ethics-based divestments are made, it said. The fund announced last Monday that it was terminating contracts with all three of its external asset managers who handled some of its Israeli investments. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. ($1 = 10.1932 Norwegian crowns)
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Norway sovereign wealth fund to exclude six companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
COPENHAGEN, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following a review of its Israeli investments. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public once the divestment was completed. The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The fund's ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter.
Al Jazeera
11-08-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Norway wealth fund divests from several Israeli companies due to Gaza war
Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund says it is terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio. 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.
Times
08-08-2025
- Business
- Times
Israel–Gaza latest: Germany stops arms exports over Gaza City occupation
Norway's $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund will announce next week changes to the handling of its Israeli investments, the finance minister, Jens Stoltenberg, announced, ruling out any blanket withdrawal over the war in Gaza. The Norwegian government said this week it had started an urgent review of the fund's investments over ethical concerns linked to the war in Gaza and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. 'I see several measures over time, but what can be addressed quickly must be done quickly,' Stoltenberg told a press conference. He did not say what these measures could be but added that there would not be a wholesale divestment from all Israeli companies. 'If we did that, it would mean we are divesting from them because they are Israeli,' he said. The review came after local news reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group. Belgium has joined the growing European disapproval of Binyamin Netanyahu's plan by announcing it has summoned the Israeli ambassador. In a statement, the Belgian foreign ministry said it wanted to 'express total disapproval of this decision, but also of the continued colonisation … and the desire to annex the West Bank', adding that it would 'vigorously advocate' for a reversal of this decision. 'Following the official confirmation by the Israeli government of its intention to encircle and then occupy Gaza City and take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, [the] foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, has decided to summon the Israeli ambassador,' the ministry said. Hamas has warned that Israel will pay a heavy price for occupying Gaza City. 'We warn the criminal occupation that this criminal adventure will cost it dearly and will not be an easy journey, the group said in a statement. It was previously reported that Hamas gave 'orders to neutralise' the remaining hostages if militants holding them are unable to escape alive. Israel's plan to intensify operations in Gaza is 'a wrong move', the Dutch foreign minister said on Friday. Caspar Veldkamp wrote on X: 'The plan of the Netanyahu government to intensify Israeli operations in Gaza is a wrong move. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement. This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home.' He added: 'The Dutch government has always been clear: Gaza belongs to the Palestinians.' In further critical comments from Germany, Friedrich Merz has called on Israel 'not to take any further steps toward annexing the West Bank'. The chancellor added that Binyamin Netanyahu's government should allow comprehensive access for aid deliveries, including for UN organisations and that Israel 'must continue to comprehensively and sustainably address the humanitarian situation in Gaza'. An Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon is believed to have killed six people, including a senior member of a Palestinian group and his bodyguard as they were travelling to Syria. The strike near the Lebanese border crossing of Masnaa on Thursday killed Mohammed Wishah, a member of the central committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the group said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government. The senior PFLP official, Marwan Abdel-Al, wrote on social media: 'We have lost two of the most loyal comrades who gave their precious souls to freedom.' Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the airstrike killed six people and wounded ten, without identifying the victims. Germany, which has been one of the staunchest supporters of Israel's actions in Gaza, has announced it will not approve any exports to Israel of military equipment that could be used in the Strip until further notice. The chancellor, Friedrich Merz, made the announcement in response to Israel's plan to expand its military operations in the Palestinian territory. The release of the Israeli hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire were Germany's top priorities, Merz said in a statement, expressing deep concern over the suffering of Gazans. In a further statement after claiming Netanyahu 'seeks to get rid of his captives and sacrifice them', Hamas has called Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City as a 'war crime'. The group added that the Israeli government 'does not care about the fate of its hostages'. Spain is the latest country to condemn Israel's plans as pressure increases for Binyamin Netanyahu to reverse the decision. Madrid's foreign minister said it would cause further suffering for the people of Gaza. 'We firmly condemn the decision of the Israeli government to escalate the military occupation of Gaza. It will only cause more destruction and suffering,' José Manuel Albares said. He added that 'a permanent ceasefire, the immediate and massive entry of humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages are urgently needed'. Last year Spain officially recognised the state of Palestine as an independent country. The British military is hiring American contractors to carry out secret spying missions over Gaza for Israel because of a shortage of RAF aircraft (Larisa Brown writes). Ministry of Defence sources have told The Times that the government is paying a company based in Nevada to look for hostages. A 'schoolboy' error meant that the flight path of the US aircraft, registered as N6147U and used on behalf of the UK government, was made publicly available so it could be seen flying over the largely destroyed city of Khan Yunis in July. • Read in full: Blunder reveals UK hired foreign contractors for spy mission The government believes Netanyahu's plans to fully occupy Gaza is 'wrong' and that it is 'constantly putting pressure on all parties to get round the table', a minister has said. Miatta Fahnbulleh, an energy minister, told Times Radio: 'We think that decision is the wrong decision. And we hope that the Israeli government will reconsider it. It risks escalating an already intolerable and atrocious situation. 'There's no one that can see the scenes in Gaza and not feel absolutely gut-wrenched. And our priority is that we have got to find a pathway to peace. And that means trying to negotiate a ceasefire.' President Trump was reported to have shouted at the Israeli prime minister during a phone call about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The call took place on July 28, according to NBC News, which cited unnamed senior US officials, after Binyamin Netanyahu said at an event that, despite widespread reports of hunger and starvation in the Strip, 'There is no starvation in Gaza.' Trump publicly responded the next day that he was 'not particularly convinced' by Netanyahu's assurance, saying there was 'real starvation' in Gaza and adding: 'You can't fake that.' In response to the NBC report, Netanyahu's office described the claim as 'complete fake news'. China has expressed 'serious concerns' over Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, urging it to 'immediately cease its dangerous actions'. 'Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,' a foreign ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency. 'The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire. 'A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire. Only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured.' Beijing said it was 'willing to work together with the international community to help end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible'. Israel 'intends' to hand Gaza to Arab authorities after occupation, Binyamin Netanyahu has said. Asked on Thursday if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, the Israeli prime minister told Bill Hemmer on Fox News: 'We intend to.' But he added that Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved. 'We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body,' he said. Israel is considering withdrawing defence and security co-operation with the UK if Sir Keir Starmer goes ahead with recognising Palestine, in a move that could undermine national security (Matt Dathan and Gabrielle Weiniger write). Diplomatic sources have told The Times that Binyamin Netanyahu's government is examining the response as one of a range of options if Britain presses ahead with Palestinian recognition next month. An official warned that Britain and other countries considering diplomatic recognition should 'carefully consider' the consequences of such a move. • Read in full: Netanyahu could cut security ties if Starmer recognises Palestine Egypt has warned that Israel's decision to take over Gaza City will lead to Hamas executing the remaining Israeli hostages, according to a report in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. An unnamed Egyptian diplomat claimed that Hamas had 'orders to neutralise' the remaining hostages if militants holding them were unable to escape alive. The warning had been sent in a message to the White House, the Times of Israel reported. Sir Ed Davey has said it is 'increasingly clear' that Binyamin Netanyahu's 'goal is ethnic cleansing' in Gaza. The Liberal Democrat leader said: 'Netanyahu's plans to occupy the whole of Gaza are utterly abhorrent and it's increasingly clear that his goal is ethnic cleansing. 'This plan will only serve to wreak more devastation on the lives of millions of Gazans, whose homes and communities have already been destroyed, while endangering the lives of those hostages still held by Hamas. He also called on Sir Keir Starmer to stop the export of all British arms to Israel and place sanctions on Netanyahu. 'Rather than sitting on its hands and issuing strongly worded statements, the UK government needs to take decisive action. Keir Starmer needs to stop the export of all UK arms to Israel today and sanction Netanyahu and his cabinet.' Turkey has condemned Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, calling on the international community and UN Security Council to act to prevent the plan's implementation. The foreign ministry said Israel must immediately halt its war plans, agree a ceasefire in Gaza and start negotiations for a two-state solution, adding that each step to continue what it called the genocide and occupation of Palestinian lands dealt a heavy blow to global security. The Israeli armed forces chief of staff had argued against a full takeover of Gaza, with Israeli officials telling Reuters that a meeting with the head of the military before the security council vote was tense. Eyal Zamir argued against a full military occupation as he feared endangering the lives of remaining hostages and miring an exhausted military in Gaza. On Thursday as Netanyahu's war cabinet prepared to meet, Zamir defended his right to speak out on the military's behalf, calling the culture of debate 'an inseparable part of the history of the Jewish people'. But he also said the military now had the ability to establish a new security reality along the border. 'Our intention is to defeat Hamas and continue to operate with our hostages at the forefront of our minds,' he added. If it wasn't already a foregone conclusion that Britain would recognise a Palestinian state in September, Israel's decision to take control of more of Gaza makes it one (Chris Smyth writes). Sir Keir Starmer set a series of conditions for Israel to avoid Britain taking the symbolic step at the UN, including alleviating suffering in Gaza and reaching a ceasefire. Binyamin Netanyahu has done the exact opposite. Many in Labour will feel vindicated in Starmer's decision to defy Israel and recognise Palestine. Yet Netanyahu's latest move raises uncomfortable questions about what recognition actually achieves. After all, the aim is to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel to change course. That has not happened. Indeed, it could be argued that recognition has backfired, confirming Netanyahu's willingness to ignore international condemnation. His government, and many Israelis, already feel it is them against the world: a move they see as rewarding terror seems only to have affirmed their sense that they cannot rely on the international community and must go their own way. Only the United States has stood firm behind Israel. Now, as before, the real question is what it will finally take for President Trump to decide enough is enough. The UN human rights chief has said the planned occupation of Gaza City must be 'immediately halted'. Volker Turk said in a statement: 'The Israeli government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted. 'It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination.' Currently Israel says it controls 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip. The remaining quarter mostly comprises Gaza City and refugee camps in central Gaza. It is believed that the Israeli hostages are being held in those locations. Almost all of Gaza's estimated two million citizens are thought to be in the quarter of the Strip that the IDF does not control. The UN estimates some 87 per cent of the territory is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders. Australia has urged Israel 'not to go down this path', after Binyamin Netanyahu announced Israel intended to take military control of Gaza City. 'Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,' the Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said in a statement on Friday. Wong said permanent forced displacement was a violation of international law and repeated calls for a ceasefire, aid to flow unimpeded and for militant group Hamas to return the hostages taken in October 2023. 'A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace, a Palestinian state and the state of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognised borders,' she added. Freed hostages and their families are expected to gather outside the home of Israel's defence minister on Friday night to protest the fresh offensive. Iair Horn, whose brother is still in Gaza, and Raz Ben Ami, who was captured from his home in a kibbutz pictured wearing only his underwear, will sit outside Israel Katz's home in south-central Israel. 'We cannot heal, neither as individuals nor as a society, until all of them are brought home. We cannot recover as long as they're still there,' they said in a statement. Last night Israeli police arrested 10 protesters as thousands gathered in Tel Aviv against the military offensive. Demonstrations took place across Israel as the security cabinet discussed the occupation of Gaza City. The Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said the decision by the security cabinet was 'a disaster' and that Binyamin Netanyahu had been dragged into the position by the hard-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. In a post on X, Lapid said the decision was 'exactly what Hamas wanted' and would lead to the death of more hostages. 'In complete contradiction to the opinion of the military and security ranks, without considering the erosion and exhaustion of the fighting forces, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich dragged Netanyahu into a move that will take months, lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayer, and lead to a political collapse,' Lapid said. Sir Keir Starmer said Israel's decision to take control of Gaza was 'wrong' and urged it to reconsider. 'The Israeli government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza City is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,' the prime minister said in a statement. 'This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only fragmented parts, called the cabinet decision a 'blatant coup' against the negotiation process and warned it could threaten the lives of hostages. 'Netanyahu's plans to expand the aggression confirm beyond any doubt that he seeks to get rid of his captives and sacrifice them,' the group said in a statement. The Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera the group would treat any force formed to govern Gaza as an 'occupying' force linked to Israel. Arab countries would 'only support what Palestinians agree and decide on', a Jordanian official source told Reuters, adding that security in Gaza should be handled through 'legitimate Palestinian institutions'. The security cabinet adopted the takeover plans by a majority vote and included 'five principles for ending the war', Binyamin Netanyahu's office said. These are: 1. The disarmament of Hamas2. The return of all hostages, both living and dead3. Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip4. Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip5. The existence of an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City after a ten-hour meeting. 'The security cabinet has approved the prime minister's proposal for the defeat of Hamas,' Binyamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement. 'The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] will prepare for the takeover of Gaza City while ensuring the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones.' In a statement, the Israeli prime minister's office said the vast majority of cabinet members believed that 'the alternative plan presented in the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages'.
