South Africa's President Signs Petition to Release Convicted Palestinian Terrorist
Ramaphosa endorses petition for Marwan Barghouti's release despite his conviction for orchestrating murders of Greek monk, Israeli civilians in suicide bombings and shootings across Israel
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has become the first sitting head of state to sign an international petition demanding Israel release Marwan Barghout — a convicted terrorist serving five consecutive life sentences for orchestrating the murders of five civilians. Ramaphosa signed the petition on April 27, 2026, South Africa’s Freedom Day, in a symbolic move linking the country’s liberation from apartheid to the cause of a man an Israeli court found guilty of leading terror attacks that killed over 1,000 Israelis during the Second Intifada.
The petition, organized by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, describes Barghouti as “a Palestinian ‘Mandela’ figure” whose imprisonment constitutes “a grave injustice” — a characterization that has drawn sharp international condemnation and threatens to further damage South Africa’s already strained relations with the United States.
A Record Written in Blood
Marwan Barghouti’s convictions are documented in Israeli court records. In 2004, a Tel Aviv district court sentenced him to five consecutive life terms plus 40 years after finding him guilty on five counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and membership in a terrorist organization.
The victims include Greek Orthodox monk Georgios Tsibouktzakis, murdered in a June 2001 drive-by shooting near Jerusalem, and Yoela Hen, killed in a January 2002 attack on a gas station in Jerusalem. Three more victims — Eli Dahan, Yosef Haybi, and Salim Barakat — died in the Seafood Market attack on March 5, 2002, when a terrorist opened fire with an M16 rifle on diners in Tel Aviv, wounding 35 others.
Barghouti founded and led the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a designated terrorist organization responsible for numerous suicide bombings and shooting attacks during the Second Intifada; a campaign of violence that claimed more than 1,000 Israeli lives between 2000 and 2005.
A Pattern of Support
This is not Ramaphosa’s first endorsement of Barghouti. In 2017, while serving as South Africa’s Deputy President, Ramaphosa went on a 24-hour hunger strike alongside Cabinet ministers in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, including Barghouti.
The latest signature comes amid South Africa’s broader campaign against Israel. In December 2023, Ramaphosa’s government filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Just three months before signing the Barghouti petition, South Africa expelled Israel’s top diplomat, triggering mutual expulsions.
In February 2025, Ramaphosa co-authored an inflammatory Foreign Policy article accusing the United States of “complicity in genocide” while making no mention of Hamas or the October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis. The African National Congress has maintained close ties with Hamas, and Ramaphosa notably failed to unequivocally condemn the terror group’s attack.
The Kathrada Foundation’s Role
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, named after an anti-apartheid activist who spent 26 years imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela, launched the original “Free Marwan” campaign in 2013 from Mandela’s former Robben Island cell.
The foundation has appeared on the website of Samidoun — an organization the United States, Canada, Israel, and the Netherlands have designated as a terrorist group serving as a fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Days after the October 7 Hamas attack, the foundation issued a statement calling Israel’s actions “genocide” while making no mention of Hamas’s massacre.
International Backlash
Foreign policy analysts have condemned Ramaphosa's move. Lawrence J. Haas,
a former senior White House official and fellow at the American Foreign
Policy Council, told the SA Jewish Report that "the notion that any head
of state would sign such a petition to support a convicted terrorist who
is serving multiple life sentences is morally reprehensible."
David May, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,
told the same outlet that comparisons between Barghouti and Mandela "tarnish
Madiba's legacy," noting that "Mandela should not be associated with the
mastermind of the Second Intifada, a wave of terrorism that claimed the
lives of more than 1,000 Israelis."
Economic Consequences
Ramaphosa’s anti-Israel stance is threatening South Africa’s economic interests. The United States has already cut PEPFAR funding, which provided 17% of South Africa’s HIV budget. Analysts warn that the U.S. may strip South Africa of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade benefits, a move that could cost tens of thousands of jobs.
“It is unbelievably reckless to risk wrecking the livelihoods of so many South Africans just so ANC politicians can feel important on the global stage,” economist Michael Kransdorff told the SA Jewish Report. By signing the petition on Freedom Day — South Africa’s holiday commemorating the end of apartheid — Ramaphosa has tied his country’s liberation struggle to the cause of a man convicted of orchestrating the murders of civilians.