(OCTOBER 6, 2021 / ARUTZ SHEVA) The current Israeli government will not back Palestinian statehood, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) said Wednesday morning during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking with the UAE-based news outlet The National, Shaked ruled out talks on Palestinian statehood, both during Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s term, as well as after Yair Lapid rotates in as premier.

“The Israeli government won’t deliberate on the establishment of a Palestinian state under the present government of Bennett or Lapid when he comes into office under the rotational agreement,” said Shaked.

“There is a consensus among the parties [in the government] not to get involved in the issue, which could cause an internal rift.

“We believe in economic peace as a means of improving Palestinians lives and to create cooperative industrial zones. But not a state with an army, absolutely not.”

Shaked pushed back on the description of Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as being “illegal settlements,” calling the area “disputed territory”.

The Interior Minister also slammed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as “hypocritical”.

“They’re antisemitic by opposing Israel’s right to exist. BDS is the new form of antisemitism.”

This article was originally published in Israel National News and can be viewed here.