The U.S. State Department has dismissed its senior press officer for Israeli and Palestinian affairs, Shahed Ghoreishi, following disagreements over key Trump administration policies, including a controversial plan to transfer hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. The Washington Post reported the move late Wednesday, citing U.S. officials and documents reviewed by the paper.
Ghoreishi was fired Monday, just days after an internal dispute at the State Department over a press statement he drafted that said, “We do not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.” The language echoed recent comments by President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who said in February that the United States would not carry out a “Gaza eviction plan.” Senior department officials vetoed the statement and ordered the wording removed, according to a memo from last week.
4 View gallery
Trump wants to turn Gaza into the 'Riviera of the Middle East'
(Photos: Abdel Kareem Hana,/AP, Evan Vucci/AP)
American officials told the Post on condition of anonymity that Ghoreishi’s firing sends a message that the department will not allow communications that stray from strongly pro-Israel positions, even if they align with longstanding U.S. policy.
The department did not explain his dismissal but hinted he had deviated from the White House agenda. “We don’t comment on leaked emails or allegations,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. “Federal employees should never put their personal political ideologies ahead of the duly elected president’s agenda.”
4 View gallery
Shahed Ghoreishi was fired as a senior press officer for the US State Department
(HuffPost)
Ghoreishi told the Post he was not given a reason for his dismissal, which the State Department is not required to provide because of his status as a contractor. He said the incident raised troubling questions about the department’s stance on a possible expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. “Despite a strong reputation and close working relationship with many of my colleagues, I was unable to survive these disputes,” he said, adding that the phrasing he recommended had been approved by the State Department in past statements since Trump began his second term on Jan. 20.
Another internal dispute earlier this month followed the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and five other reporters in Gaza by the IDF. Israel said al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, a claim denied by the Qatari news network. Israel did not make similar claims about the photographer and other journalists killed alongside him.
As officials debated how to respond, Ghoreishi recommended a statement saying, “We mourn the loss of journalists and express condolences to their families.” Senior officials rejected the idea in an Aug. 10 email: ““No response is needed. We can’t be sending out condolences if we are unsure of this individual’s actions
Clashes with ambassador’s adviser in Israel
Ghoreishi’s main opponent inside the State Department was David Milstein, senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Sources familiar with the matter said Milstein was known for clashing with department staff and defending the Israeli government. His critics inside the department say he is “overly eager” to please Israeli officials and often involves himself in issues outside his authority. “Milstein is an adviser to an ambassador. That’s it, yet he has his hands in everything,” one official said. Milstein did not comment to the Post.
4 View gallery
US House Speaker Mike Johnson visits Samaria with Ambassador Mike Huckabee and members of the Yesha Council
(Photo: Yesha Council)
Officials told the newspaper that in July Milstein pushed to release a statement on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning Ireland for considering legislation to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. U.S. diplomats in Europe objected, saying it would be better to consult privately with Dublin before issuing a public rebuke. Ultimately, European and Middle Eastern diplomats prevailed and blocked the statement.
More recently, Ghoreishi and Milstein clashed over the latter’s push to have the department refer to the West Bank by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria. The territory is internationally known as the West Bank, and Palestinians oppose the use of the biblical terms, saying it legitimizes Israeli settlements and potential annexation — a concern shared by supporters of a two-state solution.
According to the Post, Milstein drafted a response to Associated Press questions in August about House Speaker Mike Johnson’s visit to the West Bank that praised Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, for “making history as the highest-ranking U.S. official and first speaker of the House to ever go to Judea and Samaria.” Ghoreishi prevented its release, instead issuing previously approved wording that used “West Bank” and referred further questions about Johnson’s visit to his office.
The debate over Gaza displacement is especially relevant given reports that Israeli officials have held talks with South Sudan about transferring thousands of Palestinians to the war-torn African nation. Critics say such a plan would amount to ethnic cleansing and a war crime. Israeli officials describe it as “voluntary migration,” a characterization opponents reject, citing Gaza’s chronic shortages of food and water and the ongoing military campaign there.
Between criticism and extreme support
Ghoreishi’s supporters at the State Department rejected Pigott’s claim that he acted against Trump’s agenda. One official said Ghoreishi always received internal approval for his recommendations and had “proven track record of being able to channel President Trump and Rubio in the public talking points." The official noted that “He’s the guy who wrote the Secretary’s tweet ‘Make Gaza Beautiful Again.’”
Ghoreishi told the Post he was not “anti-Trump” and said he was inspired by the president’s May speech on the Middle East, which some senior department officials had opposed. “Trump called out neocons and Western interventionists for failing the Middle East, and claimed he wanted to help pave a new path for the region,” he said. “The hawks on the seventh floor of the State Department do not match that vision.” The seventh floor houses the offices of Secretary Rubio and top officials.
Other U.S. officials said Trump’s language on Israel has swung between critical and extremely supportive, and his contradictory remarks about turning Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” have allowed rival ideological camps to question his authority.
On Wednesday, far-right activist and informal Trump adviser Laura Loomer attacked Ghoreishi on social media, calling him a “Pro-Iranian Regime Jihadi Muslim Tied To NIAC,” referring to the National Iranian American Council, which backed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Ghoreishi said he interned at NIAC in 2013.