Norway's sovereign fund divests from Israel's Bezeq over West Bank links

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said Tuesday evening it had sold all of its shares in Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications company, as it provides network services to the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Government Pension Fund of Norway, which has $1.7 trillion in assets under management, made the decision to divest from Israel’s largest telecoms group by fiber subscribers after the fund’s ethics council in August adopted a stricter policy on Israeli companies operating in the occupied West Bank.

A statement from Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund’s assets, said that the fund had “excluded” Bezeq due to “an unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war and conflict.”

“The company, through its physical presence and provision of telecom services to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, is helping to facilitate the maintenance and expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law,” the fund’s ethics council stated in its Aug. 30 recommendation to divest, adding, “By doing so the company is itself contributing to the violation of international law.”

On June 30, the Norwegian wealth fund controlled 0.76% of Bezeq, a stake then valued at almost $23.7 million, according to the latest financial records.

Al-Monitor has contacted Bezeq for comment.

Western pressure on Israel’s settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is growing, with the United States and the European Union placing sanctions on individuals and organizations involved in the disputed areas. 

Back in January 2023, three months after the war in Gaza started, Al-Monitor reported the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund was considering severing ties with all Israeli companies over the conflict. Before Bezeq, the fund had divested from nine companies operating in the occupied West Bank. Some were involved in building roads and homes in Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and providing surveillance systems for Israel's wall around the enclave.

Norway's largest pension fund KLP in June divested its stake of nearly $70 million in US industrial group Caterpillar due to the risk of its equipment being used by Israel to violate human rights in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norges Bank Investment Management also announced late Tuesday it had sold its holding of Evraz, a Russian steel company listed on the London Stock Exchange, for supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine by supplying the metal to the military. 

The fund has stakes in nearly 8,800 companies in 71 companies, representing 1.5% of the world’s total market capitalization.