The Israeli government was not formed via a war/revolution (France, America) or via protest (India), it was formed by politic via the United Nations in 1947 (the same year India gained independence). This isn't a bad thing, it's just a note on founding.

What followed was massive immigration, illegal immigration by the orders of the UN mandate. Many of the conflicts (yom kippur war, six day war, etc. etc.) could be argued as legitimate defense from the large influx in the region. The issue with Zionism is that the entire global guilt trip that created Israel (a nation that littler didn't exist for nearly 2,000 years at that point) destabilized the entire region. Things like the war in Iraq, removing the democratic government in Iran and carpet bombing Libya all benefit Israel. There is the question of is Israel an arm of America, or is America an arm of Israel. (Both could be true).

A great interview about the state of Palestine from its historical perspective is by Zachary Foster for The Last American Vagabond: https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/zachary-foster-phd-interview-3-4-24/

As far as "defending their people," I think there is a lot of evidence to suggest Oct 7th was a false flag event. Israel funded Hamas for over a decade; created it because they thought it was more controllable than the PLO. Maybe it was, to the point Mossad got them to initiate a first strike. Gaza doesn't have good leadership. Everyone smart took the money Israel offered in the 60s/70s to leave. Those left are stubborn or children or both.

Zionism is bad because it's connected to a political movement against westernization in Arab states and pro-destabilization. Netanyahu is practically a monarch. Since his return, he's tried to gut the entire judicial system. The nation of Israel had one of the hashed COVID policies. The government has bulldozed houses and people for decades (Include Rachel Corrie, an American from Olympia, Washington, in 2003). They are clearly authoritarian, and use media manipulate the masses (e.g. the Arab refugee scene in World War Z that leads to the fall of Jerusalem). Evangelicals perpetually give Israel the "God's Chosen People" buff, due to their subconscious perverse desire to see the return of Jesus and the End Times™.