The case brought by South Africa under the 1948 Genocide Convention is an “important opportunity” for the International Court of Justice to examine actions of the Israeli government in Gaza, Human Rights Watch has said according to Al Jazeera.

“By taking this step, Pretoria is looking to the World Court, the United Nations’ highest judicial body, to provide clear, definitive answers on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at HRW, said in a statement.

“South Africa has called on the World Court to urgently issue provisional measures to protect the Palestinian people and to ensure Israel’s compliance with the Genocide Convention,” Jarrah added.