"Israel has decided to reverse its policy and open talks with the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the preliminary examination the ICC is conducting into Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip last summer, as well as the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel's reason for opening contacts with the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor is only to make its position clear to the court - that the ICC does not have any authority to hear Palestinian complaints on the matter...
A team of experts from the various ministries will be responsible for the contacts with the ICC. Members of the team will visit The Hague in the coming weeks to meet with representatives of the prosecutor's office there. Israel intends to keep a low profile on the matter in the press.
'This does not mean we are cooperating with the preliminary examination the ICC is conducting at the Palestinian request,' said the Israeli official, who asked to remain anonymous due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue.
'The Israeli position, like the position of other countries around the world, is that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has no authority to hear the Palestinian request since Palestine is not a country and because the Israeli judicial system is independent and can handle complaints on the matter of alleged war crimes,' he added.
The Israeli government feels the ICC prosecutor's office made a mistake in deciding to open a preliminary inquiry, said the senior official..."