The first Zionist Congress was convened on 29-31/08/1897 in the Stadtcasino in Basel, Switzerland and adopted the declaration that Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

("Palestine" was used at that time as a purely geographical term, with all residents, including the Jews living there, called Palestinians. The area itself was actually under Ottoman rule).' My counter The Critical Flaw: The Term "Palestinians"

Not a National Identity in 1897: Calling all residents "Palestinians" in 1897 is historically inaccurate.

Ottoman Subjects: The people living in the region were Ottoman citizens. They identified primarily through their religion (Muslim, Christian, or Jew), their local towns, or their loyalty to the Ottoman Sultan.

The Local Communities: The Arabic-speaking majority (Muslim and Christian) and the existing Jewish community (the "Old Yishuv") did not share a unified national "Palestinian" identity at that exact date. Modern Palestinian national identity formed later, particularly during the British Mandate period in the 20th century.

The Political Reality of Zionism

More Than Geography: Herzl and the delegates did not view Palestine as a purely neutral geographical map. They chose it because of deep historical and religious ties.

The Native Population: The Zionist plan aimed to bring a large Jewish population into a land already inhabited by hundreds of thousands of Arabic-speaking people. This layout meant that a project for a Jewish homeland would eventually lead to a political and national clash over the same piece of land.