The International Court of Justice ruled Friday that it can proceed with South Africa’s case against Israel and ordered that Israel must “take all measures” to prevent killing civilians and acts of genocide, although a full ruling on genocide could take years. The preliminary ruling, which stopped short of calling for a cease-fire, sparked impassioned responses. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.N. court “justly rejected” South Africa’s “vile attempt to deny” Israel’s “inherent right to defend itself”; while the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said the ruling was “in favor of humanity and international law.”