30/6/2025–|Last update: 11:53 (Mecca time)
The largest retirement fund in Norway “KLB” announced today, Monday, the exclusion of two defense companies from its investment portfolio due to their relations with the Israeli army, as part of a series of decisions against international companies involved in the Israeli aggression against Gaza Strip.
The Bloomberg Agency reported that the fund, which runs an estimated assets of about $ 114 billion, announced in an official statement that it will no longer invest in the American “Oukushosh Corp” and “German” Tesencrop AG “, because of the sale of weapons and defensive equipment to the Israeli army, which was used in the ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The fund explained that its decision came after a report issued by United Nations Last June, he included a number of companies that were proven involved in providing the Israeli army with weapons, spare parts and military components, which were later used in Gaza.
The retirement fund confirmed that he had held direct talks with the two companies before the decision -making, but he concluded that their practices are inconsistent with the guidelines for the responsible investment that the fund is committed.
Violation of moral principles
Kiran Aziz, head of investment responsible for the KLB Capitavalfalfaling, said that the two companies did not commit to the due care regarding human rights and international humanitarian law, noting that the fund made the decision to exclude in order to avoid any suspicion of potential in great violations of international law.
Aziz added: “KLP expects companies to exercise adequate care to avoid involvement in basic human rights violations, and therefore we decided to exclude them from the world of our investments.”
According to the statement, the KLB owned – until June 16 – shares of approximately $ 1.8 million in “Ochokosh Corp”, and about one million dollars in “Tesencrop AG”.
The two companies have not yet issued any comment to the Fund’s decision.
Withdrawing investments from Israel
The KLB decision comes within the framework of an escalating campaign led by human rights activists around the world, aiming to pressure financial institutions and consumers to withdraw their investments from or boycott the Israeli army companies, especially in light of the international accusations of Israel of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
In this context, the Norwegian Government Retirement Fund, the world’s largest sovereign fund with a value of about $ 1.9 trillion, is exposed to increasing pressure to withdraw its investments from or related Israeli companies. This fund has previously been excluded companies in the past because of its links to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
These developments come in light of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against both the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu And the former defense minister Yoaf GallantOn charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Israel continues to reject these accusations, claiming that its military operations are in line with international law.
Last year, KLB, the American company, ruled out its investment portfolio due to its role in supplying equipment used to demolish the homes of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The fund confirms that its investment principles prevent it from maintaining any shares in companies that sell weapons to countries that witness armed conflicts if these weapons are used in ways that represent severe violations of international law.