Finance
Norway wealth fund to announce measures on Israeli investments on Tuesday
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 8, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 8, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Norway's wealth fund will soon reveal changes to its Israeli investments, amid ethical concerns over the Gaza conflict, ruling out a full divestment.
By Gwladys Fouche
OSLO (Reuters) -Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund will announce changes to the handling of its Israeli investments, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, ruling out any blanket withdrawal over the war in Gaza.
The fund itself said it would provide an update on its Israeli investments on Tuesday. The government this week launched an urgent review of the investments over ethics concerns linked to the war in Gaza and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
"I see several measures over time, but what can be addressed quickly, must be done quickly," Stoltenberg told a press conference after holding his second meeting with fund officials in three days.
He did not say what these measures could be, but added that there would not be a wholesale divestment from all Israeli companies. "If we did that, it would mean we are divesting from them because they are Israeli," he said.
The review followed local news reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group, Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL) BSEN.TA, which provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets, creating a political debate in the Nordic country ahead of elections on September 8.
On Wednesday, the fund's ethics watchdog, which checks that the fund's investments respect ethical guidelines set by parliament, acknowledged it should have considered Bet Shemesh Engines for possible divestment. Bet Shemesh did not reply to requests for comment.
USE OF EXTERNAL MANAGERS UNDER SCRUTINY
Stoltenberg said that one question being discussed between the finance ministry and the fund was its use of external portfolio managers for some of its holdings. He said Bet Shemesh had been handled by an external manager, which he did not name.
The fund said it uses three Israeli external fund managers for some of its holdings in the country.
The fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at $1.95 billion, its records show.
It has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group in the last year, and its ethics watchdog has said it is reviewing whether to divest holdings in five banks.
Pro-Palestinian campaigners have said this is not enough and have called for a country-wide divestment by the fund. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik in Oslo, additional reporting by Stefania Spezzati in London; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Norway's wealth fund will announce changes to its handling of Israeli investments, with Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg indicating that several measures will be addressed quickly.
The review was launched over ethics concerns linked to the ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after reports of the fund's stake in Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd, which services Israel's armed forces.
Pro-Palestinian campaigners have called for a country-wide divestment from Israeli companies, stating that the fund's recent actions are insufficient.
As of the end of 2024, the fund held shares in 65 Israeli companies, valued at approximately $1.95 billion.
Stoltenberg mentioned that one of the discussions is about the fund's use of external portfolio managers, particularly concerning how Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd was managed.
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