There is contention over water sources between all the nations in the area. Linking the West Bank (what an anachronism nowadays!) and Gaza is problematic, because it would sever the south of israel from the rest of the country.


The origins of the modern Palestinian nation are found in the brutal repressions of an 1834 of a Fellahin and Bedouin revolt againt Ibrahim Ali, the Egyptian general. After conquering the land, and Syria, in 1831, he introduced siginificant new reforms. By forming a strong, centralized authority, he made the lands safe from bandits and marauders. Then he brought in his experts to improve the lands and agriculture methods, followed by trade. In order to speed the proccess up, he allowed the Christians to trade in livestock and fodder, something which they were forbidden by the Ottomans. He intended to turn Palestine into the Egyptian bread basket, in anticipation of conflict with the Ottomans. The Bedouins and the village Sheikhs were unhappy becuase they were forbidden to extort a toll from passer-by's, and that he was trying to make them settle down. The straw that broke the camel's back was conscription. At the time it amounted to a death sentence. The first signs of revolt where when Ibrahim Pasha was informed by some of the Sheikhs that they could not provide the quota of recruits. They claimed the Fellahin had fled into the eastern wilderness. This was an old excuse, he had already heard it in Syria and east of the Jordan, so he decided to drop the quotas but harden the enforcement of the new policies. Soon riots broke out in Hebron where several of his soldiers were killed and it soon spread to Sschem, where his enemies whipped up the people in a general revolt against Egypt and her supporters. It spread to Jerusalem, the coast, and the northern towns of Tiberias and Safed. When they captured Tiberias they massacred the Jewish community. After a protracted and difficult campaign, Ibrahim succeeded in putting down the revolt. They razed hebron, butchered the populace, forced the surviving men into the army, raped the women, and handed a 120 youths over to his officers, to do with them as they pleased. This was repeated throughout the land, ravaging villages, and destroying entire quarters in various towns. The population was murdered or deported. Finaly, they disarmed the populace, a harsh blow to their pride, not to mention their own safety. Basicaly he declared a new order, where only the government could use violence. So although Egyptian rule only lasted till 1840, it cause a dramatic change in the pattern of living. It was a new but broken society.