Israel did not take the land, in 1948, by conquest.  It was partitioned off by the U.N., and had been ruled by the British at that time.  Jews who lived outside it's borders had to leave their homes.  Why don't we ever hear about those refugees?  Because Israel absorbed them. 

Israel, to this day, has not taken land by way of offensive war, be in defense (being attacked by Arab nations) has taken back land.  Strategically, this was necessary for it's survival.  Expansionist?  Tiny Israel?  Silly thought, when one sees the bit of land they desperately try to hang on to.

The Holocaust was the last straw, and the U.N finally made a place for the wandering Jew to call home.  A plan that had been in place since 1917 finally came to fruition.  Back in their homeland, the land of David.  The promised land.  This is directly related to prophecy in Zechariah 12, that God would regather the Jews.

Here's another animation, brief and to the point, concerning Israel's conflicts.