Gaza, ALRAY - Hamas Movement appreciated Norway blocking $820 billion pension fund from investing in two Israeli occupation companies because of their construction activities in east Jerusalem.

Politburo member Izzat al-Rishq on Saturday said that “Norway’s decision is a step in the right direction, as it comes in the backdrop of the worldwide opposition to Israel’s settlement expansion and land grab,”

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry this week blacklisted Africa Israel Investments and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, on a recommendation from the fund's ethics council, according to Associated Press.

“The companies were excluded from the fund — one of the world's biggest institutional investors — once before, in 2010. That time it was for construction in the West Bank,” AP added.

More than 500,000 Israeli colonial settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem which (Israel) captured in the 1967 war.

The fund's ethics council says the settlements represent "serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict."