Norway pension fund divests from U.S. firm over Gaza war crimes
Claims of Caterpillar machinery used to demolish Palestinian houses in West Bank and Gaza.
KLP, Norway’s largest pension fund, announced on the 26th of June that it had divested $68.6 million from industrial group Caterpillar according to the Arab News agency. The decision came as investors saw risk of equipment sold from the U.S. manufacturer being used by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Caterpillar Inc. serves as the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment and has seen its market capitalisation rise by 25% in the past year.
Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP, stated to press that Caterpillar had “supplied bulldozers and other equipment” utilised to destroy “Palestinian homes an infrastructure to clear the way for Israeli settlements”.
She added that the company’s machinery was being used by the IDF during their campaign in Gaza following the October 7th attacks. KLP cited that there was potential risk of the firm being implicated with “human rights abuses and violation of international law in the West Bank and Gaza”. The fund further stated that the manufacturer was unable to provide assurances that it was not linked to such activities and therefore excluded the company from its investment portfolio.
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KLP, different to Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, has approximately $90 billion under management. The pension fund had previously divested from companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank such as telecom giant Motorola, in April 2021.
Norges Bank Investment Management, the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, has faced mounting pressure to divest from Israeli companies as the fund is known for its responsible investing ethos. NBIM held investments worth $1.36 billion across 76 companies in Israel at the end of 2023.
Human Rights Watch has found that over 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced as a result of Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas since the October 7th attacks which killed 1,139 people in Israel. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) stated on May 1st this year that Gaza had 37 million tonnes of debris, which accounted to more rubble in the strip than the Ukrainian frontline facing Russia’s invasion.
Arab News and agencies
