Human Lives Human Rights: France24 TV has fired renowned Palestinian journalist, Laila Odeh, after opening an investigation into her use of “pro-Palestine” terminology on her personal social media accounts.
The agency accused Odeh of “incitement” and “anti-Semitism” for using the term “martyr” in reference to Palestinians killed by Israel and “1948 lands” when referring to the land of Palestine under the British Mandate before Israel’s establishment.
The channel considered that Odeh had contradicted the channel’s media policy in dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Odeh, who speaks Arabic, English, Hebrew and Russian began her career in 1993. She joined the French channel in 2007.
A widespread support campaign was launched on social media, where Arab journalists and human rights defenders called for standing up for Odeh and condemned France 24’s decision to sack her.
Some people went as far as calling for boycotting France 24.
