French insurance company withdrew its investments from five Israeli banks after sustained campaign by pro-Palestine activists, report by campaign group Eko claims
By Areeb Ullah, Middle East Eye
The French insurance giant Axa has reportedly withdrawn $20m worth of investments in three Israeli banks which the United Nations has accused of supporting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a global advocacy organisation has claimed.
Campaign group Eko published a report on Wednesday that said Axa had engaged in a “clear, fast, and intentional divestment” from Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, and Israel Discount Bank; selling off 2.5 million shares, worth $20.4m, between 30 September 2023 and 24 June 2024 after a sustained campaign by pro-Palestine activists.
The report also claimed that Axa had not reinvested in the First International Bank of Israel or Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank since at least 31 December 2022.
These two banks were previously targeted by Eko in a 2019 report on Axa’s alleged financial complicity in Israeli war crimes.
In its report, Eko said that while Axa still had “trace amounts” of investments in Bank Leumi, it attributed this “residual amount to reporting and internal accounting still to be done and considers this a full divestment”.
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