US Official Removed After Opposing Forced Displacement in Gaza

The US State Department has dismissed a senior official overseeing Palestinian-Israeli media affairs after internal disagreements over a draft statement addressing the Gaza displacement controversy, according to The Washington Post.

The official, Shahid Qureshi, who served as Director of Media in the State Department’s Middle East bureau, reportedly drafted a line for a press release that read: "We do not support forced displacement in Gaza." The statement, seen as aligning with earlier comments from former President Donald Trump and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, sparked internal opposition. The department leadership ultimately instructed staff to delete the sentence entirely, documents revealed.

The internal dispute centered on how to present US policy regarding a controversial plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Critics have described such a move as a form of “ethnic cleansing.”

Tensions Over Condolences for Journalists

The Washington Post reported that Qureshi’s termination also followed his proposal to issue condolences over the deaths of journalists in Gaza, including Al Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif. Qureshi had suggested the line: “We mourn the loss of journalists and extend our condolences to their families.”

However, department leadership rejected the idea in an internal memo dated August 10, stating: “No response needed. We cannot issue condolences unless we are certain of this individual's activities.”

Dispute Over West Bank Terminology

Further friction reportedly emerged between Qureshi and David Milstein, Senior Advisor to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Milstein strongly opposed Qureshi’s editorial choices, notably pushing for the use of the Israeli term “Judea and Samaria” instead of “West Bank” in official communications.

Although the final version of the press release retained the term “West Bank,” Milstein’s involvement in matters beyond his advisory role drew internal criticism, with some accusing him of excessively promoting Israeli narratives within the department.

Qureshi later commented that his dismissal raises “serious questions about the State Department’s stance on the potential expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.”