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Sussex Uni professor tweets ‘Israelis blew up Twin Towers’

Kees van der Pijl was formerly head of the International Relations department

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A former University of Sussex professor has tweeted "not Saudis, Israelis blew up Twin Towers with help from Zionists in the US govt".

Kees van der Pijl, formerly the Head of Department for International Relations, was responding to a tweet criticising the US for sanctioning Iran. Kees blames Israelis and Zionists (a movement for the development and protection of a Jewish nation in Israel) for the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York.

As his source for this claim, Pijl has used "Wiki Spooks", a website reviewed as "[a] place to find poorly sourced information and many conspiracy theories. This is not a credible source for information. "

Amongst hundreds of people replying to the tweet, one person asked: "@SussexUni do you accept crazy tinfoilers based on diversity policies?"

Another responded in support of the statement: "Yup 911 was inside job".

When approached regarding justification for his tweet, Kees responded "an article about one sentence?"

Van der Pijl was formerly a professor of International Relations between 2000 and 2012, before being granted his emeritus title in 2012, meaning he has retired but is allowed to keep the title of "professor".

During his career at Sussex, he received awards for exceptional contribution to the university in 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2011 – alongside holding a Head of Department role between 2002 and 2004.

The University of Sussex told The Sussex Tab: "We don't comment on the views of previous employees".