American Cable News Network (CNN) has severed ties with its political contributor Marc Lamont Hill after he recently delivered a speech at the UN accusing Israel of practicing "state violence and ethnic cleansing" against the Palestinians

A CNN spokesperson said in a brief statement on Thursday that Hill, a professor of media studies at Temple University, was "no longer under contract.”

The network did not give a reason, but the move came amid objections to Hill's speech by pro-Israel groups, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which is known for its enmity against Arabs and Muslim.

Hill, a recurring political commentator on CNN, had called for “free Palestine from the river to the sea" in a UN meeting marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday.

“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 in the speech.
 
ADL claimed the "river to the sea" phrase was a code for the destruction of Israel, adding that the annual UN event promoted "divisiveness and hate.”

 

Source: The Palestinian Information Center