OSLO, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Norway's 2 trillion U.S. dollars oil fund said Monday that it will exclude six more Israeli companies from its investment portfolio after an ethics review found their operations in the West Bank and Gaza.

The world's largest sovereign wealth fund did not specify the companies, but said their names and the reasons for exclusion would be disclosed once the divestments are finalized.

Media reports said Monday that the list could include Israel's five largest banks, which have been under review by the fund's ethics watchdog.

Meanwhile, the fund said it had sold stakes in six other companies as part of last week's decision to cut its holdings in Israeli firms from 61 at the end of June to 32 in the coming weeks, keeping only those included in an equity benchmark index created by Norway's Finance Ministry.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the body overseeing the fund, announced last week that it had sold its holdings in 11 Israeli companies.

"More companies could be excluded," Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.

The fund launched an urgent review earlier this month after reports found that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces.

Critics said the fund could only avoid potential ethical breaches by fully divesting from Israeli companies. Enditem