RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom’s welcoming of a preliminary decision issued by the International Court of Justice on Friday, which aimed to stop any practices and statements aimed at genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The UN’s top court, which issued an interim ruling in a case brought by South Africa against Israel last year, stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in the enclave, but demanded that Israel attempted to limit deaths and damage caused by its military offensive there. The foreign ministry expressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of the practices of the Israeli occupation and violations of the UN Convention on Genocide. The ministry also praised the efforts of South Africa and stressed the importance of the international community taking further measures to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, providing protection for the Palestinian people, and holding the Israeli occupation forces accountable for any violations of international law. Elsewhere in the Arab world, Qatar’s foreign ministry “welcomed the provisional measures” ordered by the ICJ, calling them a “victory for humanity... and international justice.” Kuwait welcomed an “important step” in the conflict, emphasising the “imperative” for Israel to “respect this decision as well as the principles of international law, humanitarian law and UN resolutions,” according to a foreign ministry press release.