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World's Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund Divests From Caterpillar Over IDF Rights Abuses

In the latest demonstration of growing Western opposition to Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund on Monday announced it is divesting from Caterpillar, over concerns that the Israel Defense Forces are using Caterpillar bulldozers to violate human rights. Norway's $2 trillion wealth fund -- which springs from the country's oil wealth -- held a 1.17% stake in the Texas-headquartered company, https://www.timesofisrael.com/norway-wealth-fund-divests-from-caterpillar-5-israeli-banks-over-gaza-rights-violations/

as of June 30.

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While Caterpillar's products are classified as "construction" equipment, the IDF regularly uses massive, armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers to destroy homes and other civilian infrastructure -- not only in Gaza, but the occupied West Bank as well:

How the fuck can anyone call this self-defense or a strike against Hamas?

An Israeli army D9 bulldozer is blatantly destroying roads right in front of the Jenin Governmental Hospital.https://twitter.com/hashtag/FuckIsrael?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

— Robert Martin 🇵🇸 (@Robert_Martin72) https://twitter.com/Robert_Martin72/status/1792848384602390867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Sovereign wealth funds are rare among the world's democracies. In Norway, divestment decisions are largely driven by the recommendations of an independent ethics council established by the Finance Ministry. After evaluating Caterpillar, the Council on Ethics reported:

"There is an unacceptable risk that Caterpillar is contributing to serious violation of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict... Bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar are being used by Israeli authorities in the https://www.ft.com/content/31387962-398d-4809-950a-6353f9178728

..There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law. The company has also not implemented any measures to prevent such use.”

⚡️🇮🇱JUST IN:

An Israeli soldier from the Givati Brigade demolishes homes in Rafah, southern Gaza, and uploads the footage to social media.

The bulldozers used are typically Caterpillar D9 models, or other types supplied by Hyundai or Volvo. https://t.co/DOs9mPvE2c

— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) https://twitter.com/SuppressedNws/status/1910955022801576256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Caterpillar has long been one of the principal targets of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which -- echoing the 1980s divestment campaign against South African apartheid -- attempts to use economic pressure on Israel to advance the Palestinian cause. In an infamous 2003 incident, an IDF soldier used a Caterpillar D-9 to https://electronicintifada.net/content/rachel-corries-legacy-highlights-continuing-role-bulldozers-crush-gaza/12286

as she tried to prevent the IDF from destroying homes in Rafah, Gaza.

One of the most striking dimensions of Israel's post-Oct 7 war on Gaza is the systematic, wholesale destruction of entire neighborhoods, villages and cities. Far from an incidental side-effect of the IDF campaign, https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-defense-minister-unveils-plan-concentration-camp-gaza

, as powerful Israeli Finance Minster Bezalel Smotrich told a West Bank settlement conference in May:

“Within a few months...Gaza will be totally destroyed. The Gazan citizens will be concentrated in the south. They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”

Ever wonder what genocide looks like? ⬇️ Southern Gaza City, before and after https://t.co/1bGQlmR7qb

— Zachary Foster (@_ZachFoster) https://twitter.com/_ZachFoster/status/1842557630910431378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Alongside US-supplied bombs and controlled demolitions, Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers play a central role in turning Gaza into a vast expanse of rubble. In July, a https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-33fccfbe-abcc-4af1-bdd2-632b2787cf59

used before-and-after satellite imagery to confirm the IDF's methodical obliteration of vast swaths of Gaza, in violation of international law and basic morality. Professor Janina Dill, co-director of Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict, told BBC that occupying armies are compelled to supervise held territory in a way that benefits the native population, a charge that is "incompatible with a military approach that simply makes the territory uninhabitable and leaves nothing standing".

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On Monday, Norway's wealth fund announced it was also divesting from five Israeli banks: https://www.timesofisrael.com/norway-wealth-fund-divests-from-caterpillar-5-israeli-banks-over-gaza-rights-violations/

in Bet Shemesh Engines, an Israeli jet-engine firm that serves the IDF. It opened that position one month after the IDF began its assault on Gaza following the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel.

Perhaps the best indication of the centrality of Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers in the IDF arsenal is the high frequency with which they appear as targets in videos showcasing Hamas operations in Gaza:

Hamas targeted a Israeli Merkava Mk4 tank and a D9 Caterpillar dozer with Al-Yassin 105mm rockets in Rafah. https://t.co/J95Z79eXp3

— Mintel World (@mintelworld) https://twitter.com/mintelworld/status/1794435389635129439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Qassam vs IDF in Khan Yunis: Yassin strike with a Tandem-85 warhead vs an IDF D9 armoured bulldozer on 17 June. [Qassam Brigades 27/6] https://t.co/8jJVVXrPJV

— Jon Elmer (@jonelmer) https://twitter.com/jonelmer/status/1938832820471759116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The attack was seemingly carried out with an RPG-7 Launcher with locally-made "Al-Yassin 105" Tandem anti-armor rocket. https://t.co/BgP6nzoSH2

— War Noir (@war_noir) https://twitter.com/war_noir/status/1785300777885458483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Allah akbar

Footage shared shared by https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hamas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

— mohamed nasir - ناصر محمد (@nasir11991) https://twitter.com/nasir11991/status/1720730733486936280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Saraya al Quds vs IDF in Khan Yunis: Fighters burying the pressure plate detonator connected to a barrel bomb IED that is tripped by an IDF D9 armoured bulldozer shown from two cameras. Final scenes are the medevac and the D9 being towed away by a Namer APC. [Islamic Jihad 31/5] https://t.co/4A02ZzauBf