The State Department has dismissed its chief press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs after a series of disputes over how to present Trump administration policy regarding Gaza, The Washington Post reported.
According to the report, Shahed Ghoreishi was removed following disagreements over draft statements he prepared. In one instance, he included a sentence rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, a line department leadership ordered removed.
Ghoreishi told The Washington Post he was not given a reason for his dismissal. As a contractor, the department was not obligated to provide one. He maintained that his suggested wording echoed prior comments made by President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott declined to address specifics of the firing, instead stating that the department does not tolerate misconduct or leaks and that all employees are expected to follow the president’s policy direction.
The Post further reported that Ghoreishi clashed with superiors over a proposed condolence message after Anas al-Sharif, a Hamas terrorist posing as an Al Jazeera journalist, was killed in Gaza. Leadership rejected Ghoreishi’s suggested statement of sympathy.
One of Ghoreishi’s strongest opponents within the department was David Milstein, senior adviser to the US Ambassador to Israel. Officials told The Post that Milstein consistently pushed for more overtly pro-Israel language, including the use of the term “Judea and Samaria” instead of West Bank.
Ghoreishi contended that his work reflected President Trump’s own positions and argued that some senior officials were resisting the president’s approach to the region. He said the disputes highlighted deeper divisions within the State Department over policy toward Gaza and Israel.