Theodor Herzl‘s book Der Judenstaat paints a future where Jews and Arabs live together peacefully. He was kind of an influential Zionist.

Jews moving to Israel bought their land legally, often malaria infested swampland where nobody lived. The locals answered to this peaceful immigration of refugees with violence (Hebron massacre, Arab revolt, etc.).

As you correctly point out, Jews had nowhere else to go. Israel was the place where they could survive and have a future as a people.