Israel not at ease with dutch boycotts of Israeli banks

Israel expressed displeasure on Friday after PGGM of the Netherlands, one of the world's largest pension asset managers, announced a boycott of a number of Israeli banks for their ties with settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned Dutch Ambassador Caspar Veldkamp to clarify his country's position on PGGM's divestment from Israeli banks.The Ministry said it expected a strong stance against the decision by the government of the Netherlands. On January 8, PGGM announced it was divesting from five Israeli banks because they finance "Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories." Israeli Deputy Director General for European Affairs Raphael Schutz told Ambassador Veldkamp that the move was "unacceptable and relies on false pretense," according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.Schutz also told Veldkamp that Israel expects the Netherlands to publicly denounce the move.PGGM, one of the 20 largest pension asset managers globally, said Wednesday that it had divested from five Israeli banks because they are involved in financing the construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territories.In financial terms the move has some significance, given that PGGM had only several tens of millions invested in the banks out of the more than USD 170 billion in assets it manages.Yet it is the latest in a string of rebuffs to hit Israel over its settlement policies.