“The Ramban…points out that the desolation of the land of Israel is really a blessing in disguise.

In the Torah portion of Behukotai, it states, ‘I will make the land desolate and your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate.’ During all our exiles, our land will not accept our enemies, it will refuse to be fertile so that no other nation will settle in the land.

An army may conquer a territory, but to establish a permanent settlement requires the coordination of the land.

Rabbi Shmuel Elizezer HaLev Eidels…writes ‘As long as Yisrael does not dwell on its land, the land does not give her fruits as she is accustomed. When she will begin to flower again and give of her fruits, this is a clear sign that the end, the time of redemption is approaching, when all of Yisrael will return to its land.'”