In an exclusive story, Mediaite reports that contributor Marc Lamont Hill has been fired by CNN over his comments about Israel at the United Nations.

“Marc Lamont Hill is no longer under contract with CNN,” a CNN spokesperson told Mediaite.

Hill urged countries to boycott Israel in a speech on Wednesday, calling for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

Here’s the video of a portion of Hill’s comments yesterday in case you missed it:

CNN's Marc Lamont Hill appears to call for violence against Israel and for the elimination of Israel, says, "Justice requires a free Palestine from the river to the sea."

The phrase "from the river to the sea" is a phrase used by those who believe Israel should be eliminated. pic.twitter.com/26TL205Ylb

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 28, 2018

That phrase “from the river to the sea” has a long history among pro-Palestinian activists. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center responded to Hill’s comments by saying they were a call for the elimination of Israel. From Jewish Journal:

Sharon Nazarian, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) senior vice president for international affairs, told the Journal in an email, “Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel.”

“It is a shame that once again, this annual event at the United Nations does not promote constructive pathways to ‘Palestinian solidarity’ and a future of peace, but instead divisive and destructive action against Israel,” Nazarian said.

Similarly, Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the Journal in an email, “Justice requires a ‘Free Palestine from the River to the Sea’? Marc Lamont Hill is a confirmed anti-Zionist ideologue. His extremist, anti-peace views merit coverage on CNN, not as a paid pundit but as a supreme propagandist unfettered by facts.”

For his part, Hill has spent most quite a bit of time in the last 24 hours on Twitter denying he meant anything by the use of that particular phrase:

This is silly. And inaccurate. “River to the sea” is a phrase that precedes Hamas by more than 50 years. It also has a variety of meanings. In my remarks, which you clearly didn’t hear, I was talking about full citizenship rights IN Israel and a redrawing of the pre-1967 borders. https://t.co/6jFN22mTcq

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 28, 2018

At no point did I endorse, support, or even mention Hamas. This is dishonest. I was very clear in my comments about desiring freedom, justice, and self-determination for EVERYONE. https://t.co/6jFN22mTcq

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 28, 2018

I concluded my remarks with a call to free Palestine from river to sea. This means that all areas of historic Palestine —e.g., West Bank, Gaza, Israel— must be spaces of freedom, safety, and peace for Palestinians.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

Anyone who studies the region, or the history of Palestinian nationalism, knows that “river to sea” has been, and continues to be, a phrase used by many factions, ideologies, movements, and politicians.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

The phrase dates back to at least the middle of the British Mandate and has never been the exclusive province of a particular ideological camp. The idea that this is a Hamas phrase is simply untrue.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

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

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.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

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. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018

While that one phrase (“from the river to the sea”) was certainly a show-stopper, it can’t be divorced from the broader argument Hill was making, i.e. that peace is good but Palestinian violence shouldn’t necessarily be condemned outright. Peace cannot be “fetishized,” Hill said. There are other responses that are legitimate besides the non-violence of King or Gandhi, he argued. So even if you take him at his word about the phrase “from the river to the sea” he was still advocating tolerance for Palestinian violence against Israel.

It also doesn’t help that Hill has a history of friendliness with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan:

CNN contributor says he has "beautiful" conversations with Louis Farrakhan.@CNNPR supports this. pic.twitter.com/29WSA5fT6H

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 29, 2018

Hill also once refused to condemn Farrakhan on television saying he didn’t know whether or not he was an anti-Semite:

https://twitter.com/nickmon1112/status/1056968525716316162

Here’s Hill full speech at the UN: