LONDON: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has withdrawn $661 million in investments from five Israeli banks, valued as of last June, as part of an ethical review of its holdings in the Israeli banking sector.
The decision, announced on Monday, affects First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and Bank Hapoalim, according to the Palestine News Agency.
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global is the world’s largest, valued at around $1.9 trillion, with investments in more than 8,600 companies worldwide. The Norwegian Central Bank manages it through Norges Bank Investment Management. In August 2025, it decided to divest from the US-based Caterpillar Inc. and five Israeli banks for “ethical reasons.”
It said then that it excluded the entities “due to the unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict.”
Israeli authorities have long used Caterpillar-manufactured bulldozers to demolish Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and in the Gaza Strip.
The fund noted that these violations are occurring in both Gaza and the West Bank, adding that “the company has also failed to implement any measures to prevent such use.”
It also said it sold its investments in 11 Israeli companies in August 2025 after reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged.