CNN on Thursday fired contributor Marc Lamont Hill after a speech he made at the United Nations on Wednesday in which he called for "a free Palestine from the river to the sea."
"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," a CNN spokesperson said, confirming the severing of ties.
Hill, a professor of media studies at Philadelphia's Temple University who was a recurring political commentator on CNN, called for an international boycott of Israel in a speech at the U.N. on Wednesday as part of its annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
"We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires, and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea," Hill said.
"If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself. ... We must prioritize peace, but we must not romanticize or fetishize it."
The Anti-Defamation League said the "river to the sea" phrase is code for the destruction of Israel often used by Hamas and groups bent on annihilating the Jewish state.
"Those calling for 'from the river to the sea' are calling for an end to the State of Israel," ADL's Senior Vice President for International Affairs Sharon Nazarian said in a statement, adding that the annual event at the U.N. "promotes divisiveness and hate."
On Thursday morning, Hill attempted to defend his remarks, tweeting, "In my speech, I talked about the need to return to the pre-1967 borders, to give full rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and to allow the right of return. No part of this is a call to destroy Israel. It's absurd on its face."
In a later tweet, he wrote, "My reference to 'river to the sea' was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things.
"I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things."
