Norway’s largest pension fund stops investing in companies linked to Israeli settlements

KLP says the businesses are involved in illegal settlement construction

The Jewish settlement of Kfar Adumim overlooks the tiny West Bank Beduin village of Khan al-Ahmar, pictured on May 2,2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Bedouin children pass by the shanty homes in the tiny West Bank Beduin village of Khan Al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Bedouin children in a history class at the elementary school in Khan Al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Bedouin children at the elementary school in Khan Al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Bedouin children at the elementary school in Khan al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Bedouin children studying Science in the elementary school in Khan Al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Photo by Heidi Levine / The National

The area to where the Israeli government plans to relocate the Bedouin from Khan Al Ahmar is near a garbage dump in a suburb of East Jerusalem. Heidi Levine / The National

A young child is seen passing the entrance of a home in Khan Al Ahmar on May 2,2018. Heidi Levine / The National

The Jewish settlement of Kfar Adumim is seen on the hill above Khan Al Ahmar on May 2, 2018. Heidi Levine / The National

Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP, has stopped investing in 16 companies it says are linked to Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

Companies listed include Motorola and Alstom.

“Divesting from Motorola Solutions was a very straightforward decision over its surveillance role in the occupied territories,” KLP said. The fund manages around $95 billion of assets.

It said Motorola Solutions had assisted with Israeli security cameras, and that the total investments amounted to 275 million Norwegian crowns ($31.81 million) while that its divestment was complete.

KLP also divested telecom operators offering services within the West Bank as they contributed to making "the settlements attractive residential areas."

These included Altice Europe, Bezeq, Cellcom Israel and Partner Communications.

Government policy

The Norwegian government says Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank contravenes international law. In 2018, a Norwegian government review of boycotting Israeli produce and services from settlements said that if local authorities chose to support boycotts, it would not be illegal, although the ministry report recommended against such action.

In May, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the largest in the world with around $1.1 trillion in assets, ceased investment in two Israeli companies linked to construction in the Palestinian Territories.

"The Executive Board has also decided to exclude the companies... due to the unacceptable risk that they contribute to systematic violations of individuals’ rights in situations or war or conflict," the fund said at the time.

"The Council on Ethics has recommended Norges Bank to exclude the companies based on the companies’ activities associated with Israeli settlements on the West Bank," it added.

The recent divestments follow longstanding Norwegian government policy on Israeli settlement construction. In December last year, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide condemned an Israeli plan to build 5,000 more settlements in the West Bank.

"I am concerned that the settlement decisions made this week will undermine efforts to rebuild trust between Israelis and Palestinians, and imperil the prospects for achieving a negotiated two-state solution," Ms Eriksen Søreide said.

A senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation welcomed KLP’s move.

“The Norwegian step is significant to stop dealing with companies that support settlements on Palestinian land. We welcome it, and we urge other countries to take similar steps,” Wasel Abu Youssef told Reuters.

“After the United Nations announced its blacklist of companies that operate in settlements, all countries must either suspend the work of these companies or boycott them.”

The occupation of Palestinian territories is considered illegal by the United Nations. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where tensions often flare up between settlers and the Palestinian population.