Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer was one of the founders of the Chovevei Tzion movement, and in his 1862 book Derishas Tzion he claimed that Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisroel could be the beginning of the redemption. But he made clear that this did not include fighting wars and conquering the land from the gentiles, which would be prohibited under the oaths:
Regarding the oath of G-d, which forms the basis for people who retreat from listening to the words of the prophet – “Do not give Him silence until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth” (Yishaya 62:7) – I will respond to you in two ways: Firstly, the warning “do not arouse or awaken” (Shir Hashirim 2:7) only means that we may not go up with a strong hand to the walls of Jerusalem, as it is explicitly stated in the Gemara there (Kesubos 111a) “that they must not go up as walls” and Rashi explains “with strength”; and also that they must not rebel against the nations; but rather they must wait for the kindness of Hashem, that He turn His eye of mercy to us, if He is pleased with the work of our hands. He only made us swear not to engage in forceful immigration, to go up to the mountain with strength, but to desire its stones and to settle the land is fine, and there is no greater mitzvah than this, as I have explained at length. (Maamar Kadishin p. 35b)
tags: