Norwegian pension fund breaks off cooperation with Caterpillar because of Gaza war

Norway’s largest pension fund has sold its $69 million stake in bulldozer maker Caterpillar over the alleged use of the company’s vehicles in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the destruction in the Gaza Strip.

The KLP pension fund made the decision earlier this month after Caterpillar was unable to provide assurances that the company was taking steps to reduce the risk that its equipment would be used by the Israeli military against Palestinians in a manner that violates international law.

The KLP Pension Fund manages the retirement savings assets of over half a million Norwegian public sector employees.

The fund has a volume of around 90 billion US dollars and has previously excluded companies from its resources due to human rights violations, corruption and environmental damage.

Kiran Aziz, KLP’s head of responsible investment, said Caterpillar has long supplied machines used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure, paving the way for the construction of Israeli settlements.

“It is also alleged that the company’s equipment is used by the Israeli forces in connection with their military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7 last year,” Aziz said in a statement published in the Guardian.

“Since the company cannot give us any assurance that it will take any action in this regard, we have decided to exclude the company from investment,” Aziz added.

Caterpillar has long been accused of being used in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Israeli army has reportedly retrofitted bulldozers with armored cabs and weapons and used the converted equipment to demolish Palestinian homes.

Human rights groups, journalists and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had previously pointed out the use of Caterpillar bulldozers in Palestinian territories.

This includes the use of Caterpillar equipment in the ongoing Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, in which 37,800 Palestinians have been killed since October and at least 86,500 others injured in the same period.

The war in the Gaza Strip has razed entire neighborhoods and devastated the besieged enclave’s infrastructure, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis.

Journalists and human rights groups reported that Israeli forces buried wounded Palestinians alive with Caterpillar bulldozers outside Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip after a nine-day siege.

The company has been classified by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as a potential “accomplice” in the Gaza war.

This is not the first time the KLP has opposed Israeli actions in Palestinian territories. In 2021, they expelled international telecommunications company Motorola over its links to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.