{"id":4197,"date":"2026-09-16T14:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4197"},"modified":"2026-09-16T14:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T14:08:11","slug":"norways-sovereign-wealth-fund-profits-from-israeli-holdings-amid-genocide-business-and-economy-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4197","title":{"rendered":"Norway\u2019s sovereign wealth fund profits from Israeli holdings amid genocide | Business and Economy News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The value of Norway\u2019s sovereign wealth fund\u2019s investments in Israeli companies has increased, prompting ethical concerns among campaign groups and charities as the war in Gaza continues.<\/p>\n

The fund, the world\u2019s largest, cut<\/a> its Israeli holdings from 61 to 29 companies last year, citing \u201cthe serious humanitarian crisis\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n

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Although it has made no new investments in Israeli firms since, returns from its remaining holdings reached $2.4bn in the first half of 2026 \u2013 a rise of 15.7 percent since the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

The fund \u201crepresents enormous economic and political power\u201d, Rami Samandar, head of Norway\u2019s Palestine Committee, told Al Jazeera. \u201cWhen Norwegian public capital is invested in companies whose activities contribute to Israel\u2019s military aggression, the occupation and the infrastructure that sustains it, are very problematic and should be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in the 1990s to manage profits from oil and gas companies, the so-called \u201coil fund\u201d is managed by Norges Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that Norway, through the Norwegian oil fund\u2019s investments, is failing to comply with its obligations under international law and is contributing to the maintenance of Israel\u2019s occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people,\u201d Samandar said.<\/p>\n

The value held in the Israeli drone-camera company NextVision Stabilized Systems has increased to $25.9m from $21m in 2025 over the period. The state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel\u2019s largest aerospace and defence company which supplies the military, buys equipment from NextVision.<\/p>\n

The fund also profits from stakes in One Software Technologies, which, according to Who Profits, a group that researches companies involved in Israel\u2019s occupation, provides the Israeli Civil Administration maintenance services for the biometric identification system deployed at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank. Formula Systems, another company, provides software services to the Israeli military through its subsidiary TSG.<\/p>\n

Mads Harlem, an international lawyer at Save the Children Norway, told Al Jazeera that the fund should divest from NextVision so long as it \u201chas not implemented adequate measures to prevent its products from contributing to violations of international humanitarian law\u201d.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Norges Bank Investment Management said the fund\u2019s ethical framework is under review.<\/p>\n

The finance ministry has \u201cadopted temporary ethical guidelines and changes to the management mandate that apply until a new framework is in place. During this period, Norges Bank shall not decide on observation or exclusion of companies,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cThe fund is broadly invested in line with the mandate we have been given by the ministry of finance,\u201d they continued, adding that the ministry \u201csets a benchmark index that determines which markets and companies the fund is to be invested in, and the Israeli market is part of that index.\u201d<\/p>\n

The review is expected to conclude by October 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our view, this [period] leaves Norway unable to fully meet its obligation to prevent serious violations of international law,\u201d said Harlem.<\/p>\n

Pal Nygaard, professor at BI Norwegian Business School and a member of Historians for Palestine, a group which examines the companies in question, was disappointed to see the fund\u2019s continued investments in NextVision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t sell the stocks when it\u2019s thoroughly documented that the company is contributing to Israel\u2019s war crimes,\u201d he said. \u201cThe most reasonable thing to do would be to say that Israel is a rogue state that is committing genocide, and exclude all Israeli companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICL Group, of which Norway holds a 1.65 percent shareholder stake, also contributes to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouins in the Naqab Desert, as several mining projects are displacing them into small areas, according to Historians for Palestine. It also supplies fertilisers to illegal settlements.<\/p>\n

Harlem warned that the portfolio may signal to financial market players that they \u201cdo not need to conduct thorough human rights and conflict-related due diligence regarding how their investments contribute to \u2013 or are linked to \u2013 war crimes and other serious violations of international law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Norway froze the fund\u2019s investments in Russian companies.<\/p>\n

Samandar called for the same treatment for Israel, which is similarly accused of war crimes.<\/p>\n

The fund should not be a \u201cpassive observer of violations of international law,\u201d he said. \u201cIt should be structured and managed so that Norwegian capital does not contribute to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norway recognised the Palestinian state in 2024 and backs a two-state solution.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson at Norway\u2019s finance ministry told Al Jazeera that \u201cinvestments in areas affected by war and conflict require enhanced due diligence\u201d, and that assessments of individual companies are made by Norges Bank and an ethics council \u201cindependently of the ministry\u201d.<\/p>\n

In January, Norway\u2019s Palestine Committee filed a formal complaint, accusing Norges Bank, the fund and the authority that handles it, of serious crimes including genocide.<\/p>\n

The case was dismissed, but the committee is appealing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Norway expects other states and companies to respect international law, it must also ensure that Norwegian public money does not contribute to the occupation and oppression of Palestinians,\u201d said Samandar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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The value of Norway\u2019s sovereign wealth fund\u2019s investments in Israeli companies has increased, prompting ethical concerns among campaign groups and charities as the war in Gaza continues. The fund, the world\u2019s largest, cut its Israeli holdings from 61 to 29 companies last year, citing \u201cthe serious humanitarian crisis\u201d in Gaza. Recommended Stories list of 4…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t