Oil has made Norway exceptionally wealthy. The country is home to the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, established in 1990 using revenue from petroleum. Known as the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), it is currently valued at over 20,239 billion Norwegian kroner (£1.4 trillion) and is managed by Nicolai Tangen, a wealthy banker and art collector. With investments in around 8,500 companies across 69 countries, it stands as the world’s largest single investor.
Norway claims to follow a foreign policy based on human rights, and the fund is meant to operate under ethical guidelines. Companies can be excluded if they are found to contribute to serious human rights abuses or sell weapons to states violating international law during conflicts. A Council on Ethics advises on which companies to remove from the fund’s portfolio, though these decisions are made after the fact.
Since 2024, the government has repeatedly warned Norwegian businesses against investing in companies that support Israeli occupation policies or human rights violations. Yet the sovereign wealth fund itself holds investments worth 22.7 billion Norwegian kroner (£1.6 billion) in 65 Israeli companies, a situation that has drawn little official concern.
Following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza, the oil fund actually increased its investments in Israel by 66%. These investments are managed by three Israeli firms, one of which has clear ties to Israeli cabinet ministers.
In April of this year, UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was investing in Israeli arms manufacturers and served as a “major European source of investment for Israel’s ongoing occupation.” She highlighted the risk of complicity in violations of international law. Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, a former NATO secretary general, dismissed her concerns, but Norwegian NGOs intensified their criticism.
In June, a 118-page report from Historians for Palestine—based on research that the oil fund’s ethics council could easily have conducted—revealed Norwegian state investments in Israeli companies believed to be involved in what some term genocide in Gaza. The report was sent to the Finance Ministry but received little attention. Then, as Norwegians began their summer holidays, another news outlet documented the wealth fund’s investments in Israeli firms, including Bet Shemesh Engines, which maintains and supplies parts for Israeli F-15s, F-16s, and Apache helicopters used in Gaza, and Next Vision Stabilized Systems, which produces cameras for military drones.
A clear indication of Bet Shemesh’s role can be found on its own website, which states the company is “particularly proud to support IAF’s frontline fighter aircraft and helicopters.” At a time when Palestinian casualties had already surpassed 20,000 and legal experts were increasingly describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, the GPFG increased its stake in Bet Shemesh, whose market value had surged.
Left-leaning opposition parties in Norway have long called for a complete divestment from Israeli companies. However, as recently as June, a parliamentary majority voted down such a proposal. A common response to critics is that investment decisions should remain free from “political interference.” Yet, just four days after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Finance Ministry ordered the GPFG to divest from Russia.
It wasn’t until the liberal-conservative newspaper Aftenposten published a report this month on the GPFG’s investments in Bet Shemesh that the issue escalated into a full-blown political scandal. At that point, Stoltenberg called for a comprehensive review of the fund’s holdings.Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) has announced it will divest from 17 Israeli companies, including Bet Shemesh Engines, and will no longer manage its Israel investments through Israeli firms. However, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has rejected calls from left-wing opposition parties for a complete withdrawal from Israel.
Recent media reports have revealed that the GPFG holds stakes in two Israeli banks that provided key loans to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer. The fund had previously divested from Elbit in 2009, citing its involvement in violations of international law.
Norwegians often embrace a sense of “Nordic exceptionalism,” viewing their country as a moral leader in Europe. This self-image was reinforced when Norway officially recognized the state of Palestine in 2024—a move condemned by Israel’s far-right government as rewarding terrorism. Yet, the ongoing controversy over the sovereign wealth fund’s investments is challenging both Norway’s ethical self-perception and its political consensus on human rights-based foreign policy.
Polls show that most Norwegians want the fund to withdraw from Israel. With a general election approaching on 8 September, the issue of profiting from companies linked to the violence in Gaza is turning a moral dilemma into a political turning point.
Voters now face a clear choice: a centre-left government that continues investing in Israel to build national wealth; a right-wing opposition that seeks to expand trade with Israel while overlooking the situation in Gaza; or left-wing parties demanding full divestment. Foreign policy has risen higher on the electoral agenda than ever before, and if current polls hold, the governing Labour Party could face significant backlash for its stance. This might pave the way for a government even less sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
If Norway is truly committed to an ethical foreign policy, Gaza must become a defining issue—a mirror reflecting the nation’s values and choices.
Sindre Bangstad is a research professor at KIFO, Institute for Church, Religion, and Worldview Research in Oslo.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs based on the topic of Norways oil wealth and its potential ethical contradictions as raised in discussions like the one by Sindre Bangstad
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is the main issue being discussed here
The issue is that while Norway is known for its strong ethical values and human rights advocacy its massive oil fund invests in companies that are accused of contributing to serious human rights abuses including what some label as genocide
2 What is the oil fund
Its Norways Government Pension Fund Global Its a giant savings account funded by the countrys oil and gas revenues The money is invested in thousands of companies worldwide to secure the financial future of the Norwegian people
3 What does contributing to genocide mean in this context
It doesnt mean Norway is directly causing genocide It means the oil funds investments might be indirectly funding companies that operate in conflict zones or supply goodsservices to regimes accused of genocidal acts thereby profiting from or enabling those actions
4 Isnt Norways oil fund known for being ethical
Yes it has one of the worlds most respected ethical frameworks It has an independent council that decides which companies to exclude from investment based on strict guidelines The debate is about whether these guidelines are strict or effective enough
5 Can you give me a specific example
A common example is the funds past investments in companies involved in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories These settlements are considered illegal under international law by most experts and critics argue they play a role in the oppression of Palestinians
Advanced Detailed Questions
6 How does an investment actually contribute to human rights abuses
When the oil fund buys shares in a company it provides that company with capital and legitimacy If that company then pays taxes to an abusive government supplies it with technology or operates on illegally seized land the investment can be seen as supporting that system financially and politically
7 What is the ethical guideline framework for the oil fund and why might it be failing
The framework is based on two pillars the exercise of ownership and the exclusion of companies Critics argue the ownership
