Barclays planned to pull out of Israel's bond auctions under activist pressure, FT reports

(Reuters) -Barclays drew up plans to pull out of future Israeli government bond auctions as it reviewed its exposure to the country under pressure from pro-Palestinian activists, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Barclays informed Israeli officials that it planned to continue to work as a so-called primary dealer, where it operates alongside other international banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, the report said.

"We appreciate the bank's statement affirming its continued commitment to the State of Israel," the report quoted Yali Rothenberg, Israel's accountant general, as saying.

Barclays said it was "preparing a response" for Israel's latest request for bids on its next bond sale. "That response is due next week."

The UK bank had said in May it does not invest its own money in companies that supply weapons used by Israel in Gaza, as it is not an investor and instead trades shares of listed firms for clients. The clarification came after one of its London branches was targeted by pro-Palestinian activists.

Barclays has also faced criticism for providing financial services to defence firms that produce equipment used by the Israeli Defence Force.

Separately, activists had disrupted Lloyds Banking Group's annual shareholder meeting in May, protesting against its alleged provision of financial services to defence firms linked to violence in the Middle East.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar, Additional reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shilpi Majumdar)