[Raşid Necati Aslım – Anadolu Agency]
The group said research it carried out, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, details the investments of 81 LGPS funds in companies which: produce weapons and military technology used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians; provide services or infrastructure that supports Israel’s unlawful military occupation; or conduct activity in Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.
“Collectively, LGPS funds invest over £450 million [$557.6 million] in BAE Systems, which manufactures components for Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets used to bomb Gaza. Over £80 million [$99.1 million] is invested in Caterpillar, which manufactures bulldozers used by Israel to demolish Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals. While over £90 million [$111.5 million] is invested in RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon, which produces 4000-pound GBU-28 bombs used by the Israeli military,” PSC said in a statement.
For the first time, PSC’s research identifies investments in Amazon and Alphabet Inc (Google). This totals £4.7 billion ($5.8 billion), nearly 40 per cent of the value of all investments listed. Both companies work together to provide cloud computing infrastructure to the Israeli military and government, dubbed Project Nimbus. In addition, the research shows LGPS funds hold over £28 million ($34.7 million) in Israel government bonds, “therefore lending Israel money to carry out its atrocities”.
The new research comes as campaigns calling for the divestment of LGPS funds from companies enabling Israel’s human rights abuses continue to gather momentum.
Lewis Backon, campaigns officer at PSC, said: “The scale of LGPS fund investments in companies that are complicit in Israel’s grave abuses of Palestinian rights is shocking. The deferred wages of millions of local government workers are going into companies enabling Israel’s war crimes, without their consent.”
“Divestment from Israel’s crimes is a moral and legal imperative that cannot be ignored.”
