A South African trade union leader has apologised to the Jewish community for offensive comments he made more than a decade ago.

Bongani Masuku of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) wrote on his blog in 2009: “Bongani says hi to you all as we struggle to liberate Palestine from the racists, fascists and zionists who belong to the era of their Friend Hitler!

“We must not apologise, every Zionist must be made to drink the bitter medicine they are feeding our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”

In a protracted legal battle that followed these and other inflammatory comments, Mr Masuku had refused to apologise until he was ordered to do so by the highest tier of South Africa’s legal system, the Constitutional Court.

The ruling last month was hailed as having “great significance” by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD).

Now the union leader has complied with the court’s order, saying: “Mr Masuku and Cosatu hereby tender their unconditional apology to the Jewish community and regret the harm caused.”

In a statement, the SAJBD welcomed the ruling, saying: “We are pleased that the courts have affirmed that there is no place for statements that are harmful, that incite harm and propagate hatred in our constitutional democracy.

“This brings to a close a long-running dispute involving many years of litigation between the parties. We hope that henceforth our two organisations, even when we disagree, will always engage with one other in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.”