A conservative commentator has been banned from appearing on US television network CNN after making derogatory comments about a pro-Palestinian journalist.

Ryan Girdusky told Mehdi Hasan, a British-American broadcaster and former MSNBC correspondent: “I hope your pager doesn’t go off.” The comment was an apparent reference to explosive communications devices which targeted members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The two men were part of a panel on CNN Newsnight with host Abby Phillip that discussed controversial comments from actor Tony Hinchcliffe Sunday at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.

During the debate, Mr Hasan said he was used to being called an anti-Semite because of his support for the Palestinian people, to which Mr Girdusky responded with a comment appearing to refer to exploding pagers Who killed 12 people and thousands injured last month.

“Are you just saying I should die? You just said I should be killed,” Mr. Hasan responded.

Mr. Girdusky later apologized and said he had heard Mr. Hasan say that he supported the militant group Hamas. After the show returned from a commercial break, both panelists were gone.

In a statement shared by Ms. Phillip on X, CNN said: “There is no place for racism or intolerance at CNN or on our airwaves.

“We aim to foster thoughtful conversations and debate between people who deeply disagree with each other to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding.

“But we will not allow guests to be humiliated or the courtesy line to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcome in our network.”

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Ms Phillip added that the channel had not asked Mr Hasan to leave the debate and that he was welcome to return in the future.

Mr. Hasan is a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza. His news agency, Zeteo, released a documentary called Israel’s Reel Extremism last June, and earlier this month he debated a former Israeli military colonel on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Hours after the heated exchange, Mr. Girdusky appeared to defend his actions, writing on social media: “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have received money from government-funded media.” Qatar.

“Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke.”

Mr. Girdusky then wrote an article for his weekly newsletter, the National Populist Newsletter, in which he said he gave his “best advice to future banned conservatives.”

Mr Girdusky and Mr Hasan did not respond to Sky News’ US partner network NBC for comment.