CNN fires longtime commentator over pro-Palestine comments

CNN has fired one of its longtime commentators over pro-Palestine comments he made at a speech at the United Nations.

The channel severed ties with Marc Lamont Hill on Thursday, The Washington Post reported, after pro-Israel groups in the United States called for him to be sacked.

"Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN," a channel spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Hill, a media studies professor, had come under fire for calling for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea" and endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

He took to Twitter on Thursday to defend his comments.

"I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice," he said.

"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 National Council of Young Israel and Anti-Defamation League had accused Hill of anti-Semitism - a charge he strongly denied.

CNN has been widely condemned on social media for the move.