Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global announced on Monday that it has withdrawn $661 million in investments from five Israeli banks as part of an ethical review of its holdings in the Israeli banking sector. The move, with the holdings valued as of last June, was reported by the Palestine News Agency and involves the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.

The affected banks are First International Bank of Israel, FIBI Holdings, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, and Bank Hapoalim. The fund, valued at around $1.9 trillion and invested in more than 8,600 companies worldwide, is managed by the Norwegian Central Bank through Norges Bank Investment Management.

In August 2025 the fund decided to divest from US-based Caterpillar Inc. and five Israeli banks for ethical reasons. It excluded the entities due to the unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict. The fund noted that Israeli authorities have long used Caterpillar-manufactured bulldozers to demolish Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and in the Gaza Strip. It added that these violations are occurring in both Gaza and the West Bank and that the company has also failed to implement any measures to prevent such use.

The fund also sold its investments in 11 Israeli companies in August 2025 after reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine maker even as the war in Gaza raged.