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Storebrand sold Palantir ( PLTR ) holdings over human rights

concerns

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Palantir ( PLTR ) provides technology to Israeli military

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Norway's government warned businesses about investments

that aid

Israel settlements

By Stefania Spezzati, Gwladys Fouche

LONDON/OSLO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - One of the Nordic

region's largest investors has sold its holdings in Palantir

Technologies ( PLTR ) because of concerns that the U.S. data

firm's work for Israel might put the asset manager at risk of

violating international humanitarian law and human rights.

Storebrand Asset Management disclosed this week that it had

"excluded Palantir Technologies Inc. ( PLTR ) from our investments due

(to) its sales of products and services to Israel for use in

occupied Palestinian territories."

The investor, which manages about 1 trillion crowns ($91.53

billion) in assets, held around 262 million crowns ($24 million)

in Palantir ( PLTR ), a spokesperson told Reuters.

A representative for Palantir ( PLTR ), based in Denver, did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

Storebrand said Palantir ( PLTR ) had not replied to any of its

requests for information, first lodged in April.

The data analytics firm, co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel,

provides militaries with artificial-intelligence models.

Earlier this year, it agreed to a strategic partnership to

supply technology to Israel to assist in the ongoing war in

Gaza.

Palantir ( PLTR ) has previously defended its work for Israel. CEO

Alex Karp said he was proud to have worked with the country

following the Hamas attacks in October last year and in March

told CNBC that Palantir ( PLTR ) had lost employees and that he expected

to lose more over his public support for Israel.

Storebrand's exit follows a recommendation from Norway's

government in March warning businesses about engaging in

economic or financial activity in the Israeli settlements in the

Palestinian territories, the asset manager said in its

third-quarter investment review published on Wednesday.

The International Court of Justice, the United Nations' highest

court, said in July that Israel's occupation of Palestinian

territories including the settlements was illegal.

Israel's foreign ministry rejected that opinion as

"fundamentally wrong" and one-sided, and repeated its stance

that a political settlement in the region can be reached only by

negotiations.

Storebrand said its analysis indicated that Palantir ( PLTR )

provides products and services "including AI-based predictive

policing systems" that support Israeli surveillance of

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Palantir's ( PLTR ) systems are supposed "to identify individuals who

are likely to launch 'lone wolf terrorist' attacks, facilitating

their arrests preemptively before the strikes that it is

projected they would carry out," Storebrand said.

It added that, according to the United Nations, Israeli

authorities have a history of incarcerating Palestinians without

charge or trial.

A U.N. Special Rapporteur said in a 2023 report that "the

occupied Palestinian territory had been transformed as a whole

into a constantly surveilled open-air prison."

Israel rejected the U.N.'s findings.

In September Reuters reported that Norway's $1.7 trillion wealth

fund may have to divest shares of companies that violate the

fund watchdog's tougher interpretation of ethics standards for

businesses that aid Israel's operations in the occupied

Palestinian territories.

($1 = 10.9253 Norwegian crowns)