It's not simply the Old Testament that depicts this land as Israel. Historically, it was the nation of the Jews and existed as such for longer than any other group have done. That's not to say they have more right over the land than anyone else but just as much at least. At the time the British were tasked with settling them in Palestine, the land itself was not a nation and there was no such thing as a Palestinian. They were Arabs, many of whom were nomadic and didn't care to have a nationality. Parts of the land were then sectioned off and given independent nation status - Jordan for example. 'Palestine' was a name created by the Romans to rid the land of its Jewish history. Eventually, the struggle for land meant that Palestine was given nation status.

Before any Jewish "settlers" arrived in Palestine, and when there had already been Jews living there for many generations, the Arabs revolted against the British Mandate by massacring Jews. The history of violence existed long before the partition agreement. In addition, the agreement, though constituted by the United Nations and agreed by the Jewish government, was never accepted by the Arabs. They planned to fight and to fight dirty every step of the way.

It's very possible that you are right re the "National Home of the Jews" in Africa being a peaceful resolution. It certainly wasn't the Jews who decided that Palestine was where they should establish the nation of Israel. It was clearly chosen for historical reasons at the very least but it was never agreed peacefully between the inhabitants of the land, only by the colonialists and the UN who would not be at the centre of the violence ever.