US State Department fires press officer after disputes over Gaza talking points

The US State Department has dismissed its top press officer for Israeli and Palestinian affairs after internal disputes over official statements on the Gaza war, US media reported on Wednesday.

Shahed Ghoreishi was fired on Monday after disagreements about language in statements on Israel's genocial war on the enclave, including a controversial proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza - a plan widely condemned as ethnic cleansing.

According to The Washington Post, one dispute centred on a draft line written by Ghoreishi for a press statement which read: "We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza." Officials reportedly ordered its removal, citing an internal memo which was circulated a week earlier. 

Ghoreishi told The Post he was given no reason for his dismissal, but said his firing had "raised troubling questions" about the Department's position on the potential expulsion of Palestinians.

US officials told the Post that Ghoreishi's firing had "sent a chilling message" to State Department employees that any US stance deviating from being staunchly pro-Israel would "not be tolerated"

The Post also reported a similar dispute over language relating to Israel’s targeted killing of journalist Anas al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera staff earlier this month. Ghoreishi said he had recommended adding: "We mourn the loss of journalists and express condolences to their families."

In response, the State Department reportedly said that no response was needed.

"We can't be sending out condolences if we are unsure of this individual’s actions," officials reportedly said, referring to Israel's unfounded accusation that al-Sharif was a "Hamas operative". The claim was vehemently denied by al-Sharif and by Al Jazeera, while press freedom groups said such accusations were routinely used to justify the killing of media workers in Gaza.

Officials familiar with the matter told The Post that one of Ghoreishi's key opponents was David Milstein, senior adviser to the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

Milstein reportedly confronted staff in defence of Israel's policies and clashed with Ghoreishi over his objections to using the term "Judea and Samaria" to describe the occupied West Bank. The phrase is commonly used by right-wing Israeli factions that advocate for annexation of the Palestinian territory.

The administration this week also revoked security clearances for 37 current and former national security officials, including many who had signed a 2019 letter critical of Trump. The move was highlighted online by Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist known for inflammatory anti-Muslim views.

Just days earlier, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The decision came soon after Loomer posted videos on social media of children from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they obtained visas.

On Wednesday, Loomer also claimed she had played a role in Ghoreishi’s removal from the State Department, accusing him of ties to pro-Iran groups and jihadists - allegations he strongly denies.