Malaysia’s government announced Wednesday that it was imposing a ban on all Israeli owned and flagged ships, as well as any vessels headed to Israel, from docking at its ports.

The announcement by prime minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office and the ministry of transport of Malaysia said the ban would take place with immediate effect and was in response to Israel’s conduct in its conflict with Hamas.

In its statement, the Malaysian government has decided to no longer accept ships using the Israeli flag to dock in the country.

In addition, Malaysia also imposed a ban on any ship on its way to Israel from loading cargo in Malaysian ports. Both of these restrictions are also effective immediately.

“These sanctions are a response to Israel’s actions that disregard basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians,” the statement noted.

The statement on Wednesday also singled out the Israel-based global shipping company ZIM. “For the record, ZIM vessels have been docking in Malaysia since 2002,” the statement said.

In accordance with the announcement, the government of Malaysia today decided to cancel all past Cabinet decisions. It was also said this decision will not affect Malaysia’s trade activities.