state department israel gaza firing.

The State Department has fired a press officer responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy toward Israel and Gaza. Officials said he was terminated over the weekend following two incidents in which his loyalty to Trump administration policies was questioned. He and two current U.S. officials say he drew ire for drafting a response to an Associated Press query related to discussions between Israel and South Sudan about the possible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan. The draft response included a line about the U.S. not supporting the forced relocation of Gazans, which the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem rejected. He also questioned an embassy statement referring to the West Bank as the biblical “Judea and Samaria.”