By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The sovereign wealth fund’s records reportedly show that it held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at $1.95 billion.

Norway’s government has ordered a review of its sovereign wealth fund portfolio following a report that the fund had invested in an Israeli company linked to the army.

The move came after the Aftenposten daily revealed that the $1.9 trillion fund, the largest in the world, had “built a stake in 2023-24 in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel’s armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets,” Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world’s largest, will review all investments in Israeli companies after Aftenposten revealed that the Fund had invested in an Israeli company with booming business serving fighter jets indiscriminately bombing Gaza. https://t.co/S8mRi9Cwqb

— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) August 5, 2025

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere was quoted as having told public broadcaster NRK that “We must get clarification on this because reading about it makes me uneasy.”

Servicing of Israeli Jets

Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL) is an Israel-based engine manufacturer and maintenance center that services Israel’s fighter jets. The Israeli army has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza since its genocidal onslaught on the enclave began in October 2023.

The government has ordered the Council on Ethics and the fund’s operator, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), to report back on its findings within 15 days, according to the report.

These children returned from their classroom at one of the educational points, only to find that their mother and little brother had been killed by the ongoing Israeli air strikes. pic.twitter.com/WRuv08V2Tm

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) August 6, 2025

Latest available records cited by Reuters, indicate that NBIM “took a 1.3% stake in BSEL in 2023 and raised this to 2.09% by the end of 2024, holding shares worth $15.2 million.”

The fund’s records also show that it held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at $1.95 billion, the report added.

In the last year, the report noted, the fund sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group, while its ethics council has said “it is reviewing whether to recommend divesting holdings in five banks.”

Divestment of Pension Fund

Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP, announced in June that it has excluded two defense companies from its investment portfolio due to their sales of weapons to the Israeli military.

Norway’s Pension Fund Divests from Two Companies Selling Arms to Israel

In May, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the country’s largest labor federation, voted in favor of a comprehensive boycott of Israel, including a ban on trade and investment with Israeli companies.

Norway joined Ireland and Spain last year in announcing its official recognition of the state of Palestine.

Rising Gaza Death Toll

Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.

On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 61,000, wounding more than 151,000, with over 14,000 still missing.

Scores Crushed to Death in Gaza after Israel Forces Aid Convoy onto Unsafe Route

Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.

Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.

(PC, Agencies)