OSLO, Norway — Norway's largest pension fund announced
Monday it had divested assets in 16 companies for their links to Israeli
settlements in the West Bank, including telecom equipment giant Motorola.
اضافة اعلان
"Motorola and other companies risk complicity in
international law violations in occupied Palestine,"
KLP, which manages
some 95 billion dollars (80 billion euros) worth of assets, said in a
statement.
The divestment follows the February 2020 UN publication of a
list of 112 companies with activities linked to Israeli settlements, considered
illegal under international law.
Israel's government has denounced the publication of the
list — which included companies like Airbnb, Expedia, Motorola and Tripadvisor
— as a "contemptible effort."
"Divesting from Motorola Solutions was a very
straightforward decision over its surveillance role in the occupied
territories," KLP said, arguing the company provide software used in
border surveillance.
KLP also divested telecom operators offering services within
the West Bank as they contributed to making "the settlements attractive
residential areas."
These included Bezeq, Cellcom Israel and Partner
Communications, and Altice Europe — which was delisted from the Amsterdam stock
exchange in January.
Also included are five banks that facilitated or financed
the construction of housing and infrastructure in occupied territories, as well
as engineering and construction groups, including the French multinational
Alstom.
In total, the Norwegian fund's divestments of shares and
company bonds amounted to $32 million.
"Companies have a responsibility to respect and protect
human right in all countries that they are operating in, regardless if the
state itself is upholding these rights," KLP analyst Kiran Aziz said.
"Conflict can mean a particularly high risk of human
rights violations. Companies operating in conflict zones must therefore
exercise particular caution to avoid involvement in human rights abuses and to
protect vulnerable individuals," she added.
In late June, KLP announced its divestment of the Indian
port and logistics group Adani Ports because of its links to the Burmese
military junta.
Another Norwegian fund, the sovereign wealth fund, which is
the largest in the world, has also excluded several companies in the past
because of their connections to Israeli settlements.
More than 600,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West
Bank and East Jerusalem, where tensions often flare up between settlers and the
Palestinian population.
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