Malaysia has welcomed a ruling issued by judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against Israel’s war on Gaza which continued on Saturday. 

Malaysia's foreign ministry said it is “vindicated in its call for Israel to be held accountable for the atrocities, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, following the landmark ruling" by the top UN court earlier in the day.

“Malaysia welcomes the decision of the ICJ in the case initiated by South Africa against Israel concerning the application of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” it added. 

Malaysia also ordered the Tel Aviv regime to “(i) prevent the commission of genocide in Gaza, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention; (ii) ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts of genocide; (iii) prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide; (iv) enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life in Gaza; (v) prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of genocide; and (vi) submit a report to the ICJ on all measures taken to give effect to the Order within one month.”

South Africa, one of the outspoken critics of Israel’s ongoing onslaught against Palestinians, filed the lawsuit against Israel at the end of December, noting that Israel’s actions are “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

The application also said Israeli attacks breach the UN’s Genocide Convention, and urged the court to “order Israel to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza.”