Action alert

AMP Applauds Norway’s Divestment From Israeli Company

Action Alert

(PALOS HILLS, IL 09/04/09) - Citing ethical reasons, Norwegian Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen on Thursday announced Norway has pulled all its investments from the Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems Ltd. The Haifa-based company also produces surveillance equipment that is used heavily on the Apartheid Wall, which Israel is constructing on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

“The International Court of Justice has ruled that the building of this barrier violates international law and the Norwegian authorities have expressed the same opinion,” Bloomberg quoted Halvorsen as saying at Thursday’s Oslo press conference. “We do not wish to fund companies that so directly contribute to violations of international humanitarian law.”

The International Court of Justice in 2004 ruled the construction of the Apartheid Wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the associated access gates and permit requirements, violated international law. Yet since that ruling, Israel has constructed an additional 124 miles of the Wall, according to a July 2009 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report.

By the time it's completed, the Wall will have displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. At completion, the Wall will be about 441 miles long and Palestinians will lose an additional 9.5 percent to 12 percent of their land, which will lie between the Wall and the 1949 Green Line. The Wall restricts free movement and forces Palestinians into small, unconnected enclaves.

The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) applauds Norway for its divestment and thanks FM Halvorsen for publicly taking a stand against the inhumane Wall. This is the first official act of its kind of any Western government, according to Israeli historian Ilan Pappe. AMP is hopeful Norway’s move may be the first in a growing call for divestment from Israel.

AMP calls on its supporters to e-mail FM Halvorsen and thank her for her brave pronouncement. She can be reached at [email protected]

Please send a blind copy to AMP Director of Media Kristin Szremski at [email protected].

For further information about companies that support the Apartheid Wall and the illegal settlement industry, click here.

The American Muslims for Palestine is a national grassroots organization whose mission is to educate the American public and media about issues relating to Palestine and its rich cultural heritage. For more information or to make a donation, call 888.404.4AMP.

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