Notice shift from Gaza to West Bank. West Bank is a whole ‘nother story.
From 1918 to 1948, Gaza was controlled by U.K.; and, prior to that, for centuries, by the Ottomans, and before that, for centuries, by Rome.
From 1949 to 1967, Gaza was controlled by Egypt.
From 1967 to 2006, by Israel (Egypt declining to reassert control after the 1973 war).
In 2006, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. At last, after thousands of years of control by others, Gaza had the opportunity for self-government.
What did Gaza do?
Engage in terrorism against Israel.
Gaza is effed up beyond belief.
Before the Ottomans, the Crusaders briefly ran it
The Crusaders wrested control of Gaza from the Fatimids in 1100. According to the chronicler William of Tyre, the Crusaders found it uninhabited and in ruins. Unable to totally refortify the hilltop on which Gaza was built, due to a lack of resources, King Baldwin III built a small castle there in 1149. The possession of Gaza completed the military encirclement of the Fatimid-held city of Ascalon to the north. After the castle’s construction, Baldwin granted it and the surrounding region to the Knights Templar