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In 1947, The United Nations, in, restoring power in conquered lands, created the states of Israel and Palestine out of lands
previously owned by the British. The Arabs rejected this plan, opting to invade the Israeli state in 1948. The war, which
lasted until 1949, ended with an armistice in which the lands set aside for Palestine were absorbed by Syria, Israel, Jordan,
and Egypt, leaving no distinct Palestinian state. There was relative peace until 1967, at which time there was the 6 days
war, where the Jewish state fought Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, taking all of the land originally delegated to Palestine, plus
lands in the three countries that started the war by attacking the Jewish state. Most of the land outside of the Palestinian
area was given back to the respective countries after certain time. In the early1970s the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization),
led by their Chairman Yasser Arafat, began terrorist activities. in Israeli, which continue to this day. In 1993, at the
Oslo accord, governed by the United Nations, limited political control was granted to areas of Israel inhabited by a mostly
Arab population. The Arabs consider the land rightfully theirs, and have made efforts to do so with actions (terrorist and
otherwise) for some 30 + years. Over time, the actions taken by the Palestinians have gotten progressively worse, and attempts
at peace have failed repeatedly. Even after the landmark peace agreement made in 1993, the peace quickly disintegrated, and
terrorist action resumed soon after.
P1: Torture is morally acceptable if, and only if it is done for a greater good, i.e. Saving lives by gaining information
about possible terrorist actions.
P2: Past Methods of Israeli torture were sourly aimed at gaining information for the purpose of thwarting terrorist organizations
and attacks.
C: Therefore it was morally acceptable for the Israelis to use minor forms of torture for the purpose of gaining information.
The forms of torture utilized by the Israeli police forces included: painful restraints (tight handcuffs, restraints that
would put detainees in
precarious positions etc.) shaking, and sleep deprivation. Although others might have been used, these were the only actions
allowed by the Israeli police, and disciplinary action was a reality for all who were caught using other such methods. The
U.N. demanded that torture come to an end by 2000, and Israel had no choice but to comply.
In 2000, the last year that torture existed legally, 47 people died as a result of Palestinian terrorist activities.
The following year the year torture became illegal, 2001, the statistic was 206, and in 2002, it was 451.
Increased police pressure, and pro-activity, which also came under scrutiny of the United Nations, brought the number
back down to 213 in 2003. This brings into question wither torture is necessary, as the statistics prove it to be useful,
helpful, and effective. Let us look back on the long history of Palestinian terrorism. For 30 years there has been an effort
among Palestinian terrorists to kill enough innocent Israeli civilians to make the Israeli government give in to Palestine
interests. Continual efforts have been made at peace, but all efforts have been ineffective, almost always due to Palestinians
reneging on their promises, by resuming terrorist activity. It would be the definition of insanity for Israel not progressively
become more aggressive in their efforts to thwart terrorism. The methods of torture previously mentioned are a minor step
when far more extreme methods are both prevalent and available.
Torture should always be a last resort, there is, and shall be, save but from the most depraved of souls, no argument
of this fact. Some would argue that Torture is wrong under any circumstance. This argument can be refuted by simply making
reference to circumstances such as the Israeli-Palestinian, Irish-British (Northern Irish), or Russian-Chechnyan conflicts,
where the fighting has continued through multiple efforts at peace, where the death toll is continually rising, and where
many lives could be saved if certain known criminals would simply rat out their old comrades. Our argument is not that torture
is regularly an acceptable method of information gathering, but rather that there are situations that are extreme enough to
justify it.
Torture can at times be necessary, effective, and prudent as shown in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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