A British lecturer at Radboud University in the Netherlands has resigned after months of controversy over his pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comments, including a call to “wipe out Israel forever.”
The university confirmed Monday that both sides had reached an agreement “after an intensive process lasting several months.” The lecturer, Harry Petitt, announced his resignation on X (formerly Twitter), writing that he had accepted a new job but did not disclose where.
The decision followed a series of inflammatory social media posts in which Petitt, a geologist specializing in resource exploitation, repeatedly expressed support for Hamas and condemned Israel.
According to the NL Times, after Hamas’s October 7 terrorist massacre, Petitt wrote that it was “a legitimate act of resistance” and, “in some aspects, ingenious.” He also described the day of the attack as “a holiday” and called Hamas’s leader “a hero.”
Last month, he wrote that it was “time to finish what the Palestinians began on October 7” and that Israel “must be destroyed forever.”
Radboud University told NL Times that his statements “do not align with the university’s ethical code.” Petitt, however, claimed his posts were an expression of free speech and accused the university of “monitoring his private social media accounts for ten months” while pressuring him to delete specific posts.
“Radboud has capitulated to institutions that support Zionist genocide,” he wrote in a statement, insisting that he had “never violated the university’s ethical code.”
His remarks triggered a national outcry and political intervention. Dutch Education and Science Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf publicly called on Radboud University to file a criminal complaint against Petitt, saying his statements were “punishable.” In a televised interview on Café Kockelmann, the minister warned that if the university did not act, he would “take steps up the escalation ladder.”
Petitt later filed a complaint against the minister, accusing him of abuse of authority. Legal experts quoted in de Volkskrant criticized the minister’s stance, saying he had exerted political pressure on the university.
According to Petitt, Radboud University threatened to fire him unless he retracted his statements about Gaza and Israel. He said he then began negotiating his departure. The university did not confirm his version of events but emphasized that Patitt’s conduct “does not reflect the institution’s values.”
The case has reignited debate in the Netherlands over academic freedom and the limits of free speech when it crosses into hate speech.
Petitt’s comments came amid ongoing global tensions following Hamas’s October 7 terror attack, in which 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were abducted to Gaza. His departure marks the culmination of months of pressure on the university to take disciplinary action.