OSLO, August 5, 2025 (WAFA) – Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that he would request a renewed review of his country's investments in Israeli companies, against the backdrop of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli genocide.

“In light of this (Gaza) case and the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the West Bank, I will today ask Norges Bank (Norway’s central bank) and the Ethics Council to conduct a renewed review of the fund’s investments in Israeli companies and the bank’s work on responsible management,” said Stoltenberg.

He stressed that the purpose of the review is to ensure Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, often referred to as the Oil Fund, is not making investments in companies that may be complicit in violations of international law in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

“The aim is to ensure that the fund is not invested in companies that contribute to the illegal occupation of the West Bank and the war in Gaza, that is contrary to international law,” he added.

In May 2025, Norway's sovereign wealth fund decided to divest from Israel’s Paz Retail and Energy because it owns and operates infrastructure supplying fuel to Israeli colonies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The fund, the world's largest, owns 1.5 percent of listed shares across 9,000 companies globally. Worth $1.8 trillion, the Norwegian fund has been an international leader in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment field.

A.D./ K.F.