Danish pension fund drops Israeli investments

Danish fund manager AkademikerPension is excluding Israeli state assets, including government-controlled companies, from its investment portfolio, it said on Wednesday, due to Israel's war on Gaza and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

It is the latest decision by a European fund manager to curtail investments in Israel, following recent divestments by Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

The 157 billion Danish crowns ($24.77bn) AkademikerPension, which manages the pensions of Danish teachers and university lecturers, said the conflict was not in accordance with international humanitarian principles.

"This comes as an assessment of the state of Israel's ability to uphold human rights," Jens Munch Holst, AkademikerPension's chief executive, told Reuters.

Reporting by Reuters