Swedish pension fund drops Elbit Systems over West Bank barrier
A Swedish pension fund has decided to Elbit Sytems from its portfolio because Elbit provides surveillance equipment to the West Bank barrier Israel is building; the barrier does not follow the Green Line which marked the border between Israel and the West Bank until 1967, but rather extends eastward to include Jewish settlements built in the West Bank since then; Sweden, the EU, and others consider these settlements — and the barrier itself — to be in violation of international law
Israel says it is “regrettable” that Sweden’s main pension funds dropped an Israeli company from their portfolios because the company provides surveillance equipment to the West Bank barrier, which separates Israel from the West Bank, an area taken from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War (the barrier, though, does not follow the Green Line — the border line between Israel and the West Bank until 1967: It extends eastward from the Green Line in order to include Jewish settlements built in the West Bank since 1967).
AP reports that the Swedish AP funds dropped Elbit Systems Ltd. on the recommendation of their ethical council, which noted that Sweden and the European Union consider the barrier a violation of international law.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Shachar Arieli on Thursday said the barrier was built to save lives.
The decision follows a similar move by Norway’s main pension fund last year.
Elbit provides surveillance equipment for the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank.
