Avigdor Liberman
Avigdor LibermanGili Yaari/Flash 90

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will discuss Sunday a bill, submitted by Yisrael Beytenu MK Sharon Gal, requiring those found guilty of murder for terrorist reasons be executed.

Readying for a fight on Sunday, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman called on the committee to approve the proposal and pass it on for reading in the Knesset. 

"I call on all ministers to support the proposal and make it clear to terrorists that the leisurely 'prison day-camp' is over," Liberman urged.  

"If this bill passes, terrorists will know their punishment is immediate and final and they will have no hope of being released early for this deal or that deal."

Politicians on the Left took the opposite stance, with MK Eyal Ben-Reuven (Zionist Union), a retired IDF major general, asserting that the push to implement the death penalty in Israel "reflects the loss of our heads."

"This is no deterrent; in fact, it's the opposite: the death penalty will allow heinous killer to become heroes among extremist societies in the Middle East which view the value of life as secondary. We are different - a fighting and victorious society known for moral values."

Also ahead of Sunday’s vote at the committee, MK Gal last week launched a Facebook campaign calling for concerned Israelis to post pictures of themselves with a sign reading "I'm also in favor of the death penalty for terrorists."

On Saturday, Gal called on Likud ministers to "prove they belong in the national camp" and endorse the bill despite, according to him, efforts by Meretz and the Joint Arab List to have it quashed. 

Jewish Home ministers Ayelet Shaked and Uri Ariel have already expressed their intentions to vote for the law.