Johansson severs ties with Oxfam over Israeli advertising deal Scarlett Johansson, the actress, is ending her relationship with the charity Oxfam after coming under intense criticism from pro-Palestinian activists for her sponsorship of an Israeli company that operates in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. A statement released by Ms Johansson's spokesman late on Wednesday said that the actress had a "fundamental difference of opinion" with Oxfam International because the humanitarian group opposes all trade from Israeli settlements. SodaStream, an Israeli home drinks carbonation company that has a factory in the Maale Adumim settlement near Jerusalem, announced a multiyear sponsorship deal with the 29-year-old actress in January, prompting activists to petition the charity to drop her. "Scarlett Johansson has respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years," the statement, quoted by the Associated Press, said. She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She is very proud of her accomplishments and fundraising efforts during her tenure with Oxfam. Nasdaq-listed SodaStream makes some of its fizzy drink dispensers, CO2 cylinders and bottles at a factory where 500 West Bank Palestinians work alongside 800 Jewish and Arab residents of Israel. Israel's Jewish settlements on land it seized in the 1967 Six-Day War and has occupied since then are illegal under international law. US secretary of state John Kerry has described them as "illegitimate," and Israel's continued expansion of them has been a major irritant in its peace talks with the Palestinians, launched under Mr Kerry's sponsorship last July. Ms Johansson's association with SodaStream divided opinion within Oxfam and brought a rare degree of international mainstream attention to the long-running efforts of campaigners, who favour sanctioning Israel over its occupation of land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want to form their future state. Responding to the criticism, SodaStream said it was the largest employer of Palestinians in the region and paid wages based on Israeli law - higher than those paid by the Palestinian Authority. Ms Johansson said that the company was "building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine." Oxfam said it had accepted Ms Johansson's resignation, adding that her role in promoting SodaStream was incompatible with her work as a global ambassador for the charity. "Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support," the group said in a statement.