Norway's sovereign fund advisor to recommend Israeli companies' cuts

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
4 Sep 2024 20:09
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Norges Bank Investment Management may sell its stakes in at least one Israeli company due to international law violations.

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A fan flies Norway's flag during the men's downhill at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, on February 15, 2018. (AP)

The ethics council for Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), says it may recommend expanding the list of companies excluded from benefitting from the SWF due to their links with "Israel".

So far, nine companies have been excluded from the fund, which is $1.7 trillion large, for illegal activities in the occupied West Bank.

These actions range from the illegal construction of roads to the illegal leasing of buildings, in line with the Israeli regime's expansive settler-colonial project.

If a company is excluded from the fund, NBIM would sell its stakes in the corporation and refrain from buying more.

The ethics council has advised the fund to remove one more company and could recommend several others, according to Bloomberg, which cited a letter sent to the country's Finance Ministry.

However, the fund is not obligated to comply with the recommendations of the council.

It is worth noting that NBIM owned stock in 77 Israeli companies, as of the end of June 2024, which are valued at about $1.5 billion and correspond to around 0.1% of its total investments.

Norway's recognition of Palestine angers Israelis

In late May this year, Norway, alongside Ireland and Spain, recognized the Palestinian state.

The country hailed the recognition of the Palestinian state as a "special day" for its relations with Palestinian authorities. These decisions came against the backdrop of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, which had killed tens of thousands of Palestinians by the time that the three European countries made the announcements.

"Norway has been one of the most fervent defenders of a Palestinian state for more than 30 years," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement, adding, "The day that Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state is a special day for Norway-Palestine relations."

In response, "Israel" pulled its ambassador from Norway, refused to meet with the country's foreign minister, and pulled the accreditations of Norwegian representatives.

Norway's foreign ministry calls for deeper dive into international law violations

In a letter earlier this year, Norway's Finance Ministry urged the ethics council to elaborate on the criteria it uses to determine whether companies have breached international law in occupied territories. The council's 2023 report highlighted its focus on companies operating in conflict zones, including Ukraine, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Myanmar.

In a letter last week, the ethics council cited a July ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a basis for potentially excluding more Israeli companies.

The Ministry's push comes against the backdrop of both unrelenting Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and continuous incursions on the occupied West Bank. The Israeli regime and several companies are involved in the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, clear and blatant violations of international law.