The world’s largest wealth fund has excluded Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, over Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norway’s $2tn (£1.5tn) fund said on Monday it had excluded Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

While the fund has already excluded more than 20 Israeli companies this year, Caterpillar is the first big US company to be removed through the wealth fund’s ongoing review to ensure its investments do not contribute to violations of international law.

“There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law,” said the fund’s independent council on ethics .

It added that the machinery was “

See Full Page