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Leicester City Council has won its long-running legal battle with a Jewish campaign group over its boycott of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The Labour-run council had been locked in a court case with Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW) since it approved a controversial motion in 2014 not to buy goods from occupied territories.

The council insisted the move was aimed at Israel’s Government as a protest about the way it has treated Palestinians.

Critics, however, branded the action anti-Semitic.

The dispute returned to the Court of Appeal in London yesterday as JHRW challenged a High Court judge’s previous decision to reject the pressure group’s attempt to force the council to rescind the boycott.

JHRW’s lawyers argued that the council had breached its own equalities rules and had acted in a discriminatory manner.

However, the council won yesterday's case, and JHRW has indicated it will not pursue the matter further.

The council's barrister, Kamal Adatia, said after the case: “The High Court originally dismissed the claims of discrimination made by this group back in June 2016, and now the Court of Appeal has emphatically thrown out their appeal.

“The ruling totally endorses Leicester’s approach to handling this motion, and has made no change whatsoever to the way in which councils can pass such motions in future.

“The judgement is a landmark – not for organisations like JHRW, but for all local councils. It recognises their fundamental right to pass motions of this nature and makes it clear that they can, like Leicester, fully comply with their equality duties when doing so.”

(Image: http://www.plumbimages.com)

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “Their argument has been trounced in the judge’s decision.

“I strongly resent the implication it is not possible to criticise the Israeli government without being anti-Semitic.”

The council has never been able to say exactly what items it had bought from the occupied territories before the boycott, and has admitted the decision had had no impact on its purchasing.

However Sir Peter said: “It was never anticipated to have a major impact (on our purchasing).

“It was a powerful gesture to show support for the plight of the Palestinians.”

JHRW is now likely to have to pay the council’s legal costs.

After the case, a JHRW spokesman insisted the group had succeeded.

He said: “Today’s ruling amounts to an important victory against anti-Semitism and indeed all forms of discrimination."

The spokesman said that although the appeal had been rejected, the ruling had brought "a vital change in the law to the way in which councils can propose and discuss these controversial boycott motions".

The court has not yet published the full ruling.