There are several countries in the Middle East that have the description you provided.
1) Iraq: There is currently conflict between the national government, Shiite Arab Militias, Sunni Arab Militias, and the Kurdish Peshmerga.
2) Lebanon: There have been a few civil wars between Shiites, Sunnis, and Maronite Christians.
3) Turkey: There is currently conflict in Eastern Turkey between ethnic Turks and the Turkish army opposing the Kurdish Terrorist Organizations.
4) Israel/Palestine: There is currently strife and intermittent war between the Israeli (primarily Jewish) military and Palestinian Militants.
5) Egypt: While there is not outright conflict, there is a lot of tension between Sunni Arabs and Coptic Christians.
6) Iran: While there is not outright conflict, there is a lot of tension between the Persian majority and the Azeri, Arab, Qashqai, and Pashto minorities. There is also military suppression of Baloch minority.
The Balkin Peninsula in southeastern Europe was a hot bed of nationalist and the ethnic rivalries in the early 1900s.
Because of it's use in that region and it's use by people typically thought to be from that region in other parts of the world. It is also because the Middle East is home to the Israeli conflict and radical Islam.
It is a place where a lot of crime is spawned. A "hotbed" is a place which aids germination.
The noun 'hotbed' is a countable noun. The plural form is hotbeds.
It means there was a lot of crime in that area.
they have a reputation for being a hotbed for terrorism
You take a hose and spray water
No, it is not. Although, it is currently a political hotbed.
hotdog, hotcake, hotshot, hotbed
Parliament passed four acts in 1774 aimed specifically at what was seen as the hotbed of rebellion, Boston.
Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe
David Brearley has written: 'Hotbed of treason' -- subject(s): History