JERUSALEM – Israel’s Supreme Court has issued a ruling allowing the local director of Human Rights Watch to remain in the country while he fights a deportation order.

A lower court in April ordered Omar Shakir to leave the country, saying his activities against Israel’s West Bank settlements amount to a boycott of the country. Israeli law bars entry to those who have publicly supported a boycott of Israel or its West Bank settlements.

Shakir, who is a U.S. citizen, had appealed to the court to allow him to stay for the duration of the proceedings.

In Sunday’s ruling, the Supreme Court did not set a date, but said the appeal should be heard in the current court year ending July 21.