Overview

• Shahed Ghoreishi, a contractor serving as the lead press officer on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, was terminated over the weekend, according to officials and documents cited in reports.
• A memo directed staff to remove his proposed sentence saying the United States does not support forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
• Officials say the clashes over messaging also involved whether to express condolences after the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif in Gaza City.
• The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem objected to the forced-displacement language and to Ghoreishi’s questioning of using “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the West Bank, the Associated Press reported.
• The department declined to discuss the personnel action and warned against leaks, while several U.S. officials said the firing has had a chilling effect inside the agency.