Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, announced it has sold all its shares in Israeli retail and energy company Paz, which owns and operates the infrastructure for supplying fuel to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

This is the second step of its kind after the Fund's Ethics Council adopted in August a stricter interpretation of the ethical standards for companies that support Israel's operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The fund previously exited the Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq in September.

The value of Norway's wealth fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, has jumped to a record 20 trillion kroner ($1.8 trillion), doubling in just five years thanks to oil and gas revenues and rising stock markets.

Established in 1996 as a savings pool for times of crisis, the fund holds about 1.5% of all listed stocks worldwide and has grown to nearly four times Norway's annual GDP, far exceeding original expectations.

The fund's value is similar in size to the annual GDP of Australia, a country with a population five times that of Norway.