NORWAY FUND EXCLUDES CATERPILLAR FROM PORTFOLIO
US firm’s equipment may have been used to demolish Palestinian homes, says KLP
NORWAY’S largest pension fund KLP said yesterday it will no longer invest in Caterpillar Inc because of risk that equipment sold by the United States group to Israel ends up being used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure, including in the Gaza war.
The maker of bulldozers and other heavy machinery might be contributing to human rights abuses and the violation of international law in Gaza and the West Bank, and had thus been excluded from the portfolio, said KLP.
The fund manager held shares in Caterpillar worth 728 million Norwegian crowns prior to a June 17 decision to divest its stake.
While KLP had engaged in a dialogue with Caterpillar over several months, it did not receive satisfactory assurances that the company was able to reduce the risk of violating the rights of individuals, said the asset manager.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into
southern Israel on Oct 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli offensive in retaliation had so far killed 37,658 people,
sad the Gaza health ministry.
KLP in 2021 excluded 16 Israeli, European and US companies from its portfolio because of their links to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Along with a number of other
countries, Norway considers the settlements a breach of international law.
Israel disputes this and cites Biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security needs.