DayofPal– Norway’s $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has made a bold statement in the global finance arena by divesting from Israeli energy conglomerate Paz Oil Company.
The reason for divestment is the firm’s involvement in illegal settlement operations in the occupied West Bank.
The decision, announced Sunday, marks the second major pullout by the fund following its adoption of stricter ethical guidelines in August 2023.
The fund, which holds stakes in over 9,000 companies worldwide and owns an estimated 1.5% of all publicly traded shares globally, said Paz’s direct role in supplying fuel infrastructure to Israeli settlements constituted a “serious violation of ethical norms.”
“This is a clear breach tied to the occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories,” said a statement from the fund’s Council on Ethics, which has ramped up scrutiny of companies complicit in activities considered illegal under international law.
This move follows a similar divestment from Israeli telecom giant Bezeq last September, signaling a shift in the fund’s posture towards firms linked to Israeli operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Council’s revised stance now treats facilitation of settlement infrastructure as grounds for exclusion.
The divestment comes amid growing international unease over Israel’s settlement expansion in the West Bank, which has surged since October 2023, when Israel’s military campaign in Gaza sparked widespread condemnation.
With nearly 770,000 Israeli settlers now living across 180 settlements and 256 outposts, international law experts and global institutions, including the United Nations, have called the expansion a flagrant violation of international law and an obstacle to peace.
Norway’s move adds momentum to a broader European financial shift. Increasingly, banks, pension funds, and investment bodies are distancing themselves from companies entangled in the occupation, in response to mounting pressure from civil society and human rights organizations.
While the Norwegian fund is no stranger to ethical divestments, this case underscores a growing alignment between financial stewardship and international human rights law, and a warning to corporations operating in contested zones: complicity has consequences.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=62906
