The Norwegian government has expressed its unease about the fund’s investment in Beit Shemesh Engines, which a local media outlet claims is connected to the war in Gaza.
The Norwegian government has said that it has instructed its sovereign wealth fund to review all its investments in Israeli companies. In particular, the wealth fund’s portfolio company Beit Shemesh Engines (TASE: BSEL) has been singled out, and which the Norwegian media says is “connected to the war in Gaza.”
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, who oversees the $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund, told journalists in Oslo that she understands why people are asking questions about the fund’s adherence to its ethical guidelines, which include not investing in companies that contribute to serious human rights violations.
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Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a local radio station that he “is very uneasy” about reports in Norwegian newspaper “Aftenposten’ about the holdings in Beit Shemesh Engines, which the newspaper said supports the fighter aircraft used in aerial assaults on Gaza.
“Globes” found that at the end of 2024, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund held a 2.09% stake in Beit Shemesh Engines, worth $15.2 million. In May, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund announced that it had sold its stake in Paz Oil Company Ltd. (TASE:PZOL) because it was operating in “the occupied territories.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 6, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
Norway wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen credit: Reuters
