After a group of Penn State students vandalized a memorial to Palestinians killed in the Isreal-Palestine conflict, Penn State released a statement condemning the students’ actions.

“This type of behavior has no place on our campuses or anywhere in our society,” the university wrote. “We firmly denounce all forms of hate and hurtful, biased, and racist speech meant to denigrate and insult any group of individuals.

“We have the deepest empathy for all in our community who are experiencing pain over the complex tragedy unfolding in the Middle East. During this particularly tumultuous time in our world, there is significant disagreement and greatly varied perspectives. However, the pain and struggles of others do not diminish our own — recognizing this fact deepens our shared humanity.”

Students for Justice in Palestine wrote that the “memorial was defaced by pro-Israel students attempting to intimidate and silence voices advocating for Palestinians. The pro-Israel students removed the flags representing murdered Palestinians, ran over the flags with their bikes, and vandalized other parts of the memorial.

“When the organizers asked them to leave, the pro-Israel students responded with horrifically racist remarks against Palestinians, directed homophobic slurs to participants based on their sexuality, and yelled ableist slurs at organizers.”

The group said it planted 18,600 flags on HUB Lawn, which it had permission to do from the university, with each flag representing 10 Palestinian deaths due to the conflict.

Previously in the week, students and State College residents marched through downtown State College protesting Israeli military action in the Middle East. Penn State Hillel hosted a vigil service at Old Main honoring those killed on October 7, 2023, as a result of the conflict.