State Department contractor fired over criticism of Israel: Report

A US State Department contractor who currently served as the top press officer for Israel-Palestinian affairs has been fired after clashing with officials over how to describe Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Shahed Ghoreish was fired on Monday after an internal debate about whether the State Department should issue a public statement saying it rejected a forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, the Washington Post reported.

Senior State Department officials told Ghoreish to delete any condemnation of forced displacement to be shared with media outlets, the Post said. Ghoreish, who worked as a State Department contractor, was fired on Monday.

Ghoreish had previously irked senior State Department officials with the Trump administration for lobbying to issue a statement expressing condolences for the death of journalists in Gaza after Israel killed Al Jazeera reported Anas al-Sharif and several other journalists in Gaza City earlier this month. 

The senior officials rejected his suggestion to make the statement, the Post reported.