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Middle East Eye
12-05-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
World's largest wealth fund divests from Israeli energy company
Norway's sovereign wealth fund has decided to divest from Israel's Paz Retail and Energy because it owns and operates infrastructure supplying fuel to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. It marks the second divestment after the fund's ethics watchdog, the Council on Ethics, adopted a tougher interpretation of ethics standards for businesses in August that aid Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The fund, the world's largest, owns 1.5 percent of listed shares across 9,000 companies globally. Worth $1.8 trillion, the Norwegian fund has been an international leader in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment field. 'By operating infrastructure for the supply of fuel to the Israeli settlements on the West Bank, Paz is contributing to their perpetuation,' the Council on Ethics said in its recommendation to divest. 'The settlements have been established in violation of international law, and their perpetuation constitutes an ongoing violation thereof.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It comes after a similar decision was made in December to sell all shares in Israel's largest telecoms group, Bezeq, over its involvement in the occupied territories. Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik has denounced Israel's ongoing siege on Gaza as 'unconscionable and deeply illegal'. Norway is among 147 states that have recognised Palestinian statehood. In April, a year after Norway's recognition, Kravik announced the formal establishment of diplomatic relations with Palestine, with the appointment of Palestinian ambassador Marie Antoinette Sedin. In addition to initiating the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case on Israel's humanitarian obligations under international law, Norway is leading an international coalition for the two-state solution, along with Saudi Arabia and the European Union, Kravik told Middle East Eye. A UN conference on Palestinian statehood is scheduled to be held in New York from 2-4 June, based on a UN General Assembly resolution passed in December in support of the two-state solution.
Local Norway
12-05-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
Norway oil fund divests holdings in Israeli petrol station group
The Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said late on Sunday that it had divested its holdings in Israeli group Paz Retail and Energy. Paz owns and operates filling stations in nine Jewish settlements in the West Bank, thereby supplying them with fuel, according to the bank's Council on Ethics, an advisory body that provides investment guidance for the fund. Several of the settlements have been built "far inside occupied Palestinian territory and are linked to Israel by dedicated access roads"" the Council said. It said that by operating the infrastructure, Paz was "contributing to (the settlements') perpetuation", leading to an "unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of the rights of individuals in war or conflict". It noted that the settlements were established in violation of international la, and "the Council therefore considers that Paz is contributing to the violation of international law". At the end of December 2024, the Norwegian fund owned 0.49 percent of the company's shares, then worth 72.8 million kroner ($7 million). Advertisement Norway's central bank announces its divestment decisions only after the sale of its holdings. The fund, which invests the Norwegian state's oil and gas revenues, is the world's biggest single investor. It has stakes in nearly 8,800 companies in 71 countries, representing 1.5 percent of the world's total market capitalisation.
