Palestinian flag is raised over Harvard statue taking the place of the Stars and Stripes that typically flies proudly above founder's memorial

A Palestinian flag was raised over a statue at Harvard University as anti-Isreal protest continue to rock college campuses and took the place of the American flag that typically flies above the founder's memorial. 

Video from Saturday night showed a group of pro-Palestine protestors, dressed in keffiyehs, raised a large Palestinian flag above the iconic statue of John Harvard. 

The Harvard Crimson reported student protestors hung the flag and two others around 6.30pm at the Ivy League campus. 

By 6.34pm, Harvard University Police officers called the school's Yard Operations to remove the flag that flew above the statue. 

In recent days, protests have erupted across campuses nationwide in the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the ongoing retaliatory attacks on Gaza that followed. 

School administrators have called in police forces to remove encampments and protestors at schools like Harvard, Columbia, Emory, NYU, USC, the University of Texas, UC Berkley and Brown. 

In other images, the Palestinian flag was seen draped on John Harvard's lap, along with a keffiyeh around his neck.  

As staff members took the flags down, protestors were heard yelling 'Shame!' at them, along with other chants like 'Free, free, Palestine' and 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!' 

Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain said that the protestor's actions was 'a violation of University policy and the individuals involved will be subject to disciplinary action.' 

Once the flags were removed, demonstrators gathered inside and outside the encampment, and made it clear that they were willing to have their school IDs collected by administrators. 

'Harvard, Harvard take my ID. You can't really scare me,' the protestors chanted. 

They then held a vigil around the statue for a Palestinian that was killed in the war, The Harvard Crimson reported. 

Following the vigil, a large group of administrators, including the Dean of Students, Thomas Dunne, stormed the encampment with ID scanners. 

As they collected student's information, they handed each protestor a piece of paper that warned them of disciplinary actions, including the possibility of graduating seniors having their degrees withheld. 

'Repeat violations of University and School policies will result in increasingly severe sanctions. Students with pending disciplinary matters may not be granted a degree,' the slip said. 

The Harvard Crimson said that the American flag is typically hung outside Monday through Friday, but is lowered at 4pm 'for proper storage.' 

Last week, the university tried to stay ahead of the mounting protests as it locked most gates into its famous Harvard Yard ahead of classes on Monday. 

The school also limited identification to those with school IDs and posted warning signs against setting up tents or tables on campus without permission.

On Wednesday, protestors continued to set up camp as they brought out 14 tents after a rally against the university's suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

This is not the first time Harvard University has held a pro-Palestine protest or faced backlash for its response to the ongoing war, as the former president of the school, Claudine Gay resigned in January. 

Gay left the Ivy League University 28 days after her shocking response at a congressional testimony about campus anti-Semitism. 

She refused to categorize calls for genocide of Jews as harassment or admit that Jewish students had a right not to feel unsafe at Ivy League schools. 

In her resignation letter, she vehemently claimed victimhood, attributing her decision to resign to ‘threats fueled by racial animus.’  

Gay, who was accused of both plagiarism and antisemitism, emphasized that her departure is in the best interests of Harvard, allowing the community to navigate a challenging moment with a focus on the institution rather than any individual. 

'After consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual,' she wrote.

Along with her December 5 testimony, Gay has also been accused of mounting claims of plagiarism.

She said it was 'frightening' to find herself the target of threats, and 'distressing' to have her character questioned. 

Gay will be replaced by Alan M. Garber, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, who sat behind her at the infamous hearing, nodding as she made her remarks.