Norway Wealth Fund Excludes Caterpillar Over West Bank Links
An Israeli military bulldozer demolishes a home at the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the Israeli occupied West Bank on June 23.
Photographer: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty ImagesNorway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund excluded heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. based on Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.
While the fund has excluded more than 20 Israeli companies this summer, Caterpillar is the first big US company to be removed in an ongoing review to ensure the fund’s investments don’t contribute to violations of international law. The fund has come under increased pressure to blacklist companies that contribute to Israel’s war in Gaza and its activities in the occupied West Bank.