(see last year's piece for a different angle).
The rabbeinu yonah writes that Kevuras Sarah was Avraham's tenth nisayon:
העשירי קבורת שרה. שנאמר לו קום התהלך בארץ לארכה ולרחבה כי לך אתננה. וכשמתה אשתו לא מצא מקום לקברה עד שקנאו ולא הרהר
Ironically, the Ibn Ezra seems to view the story of kevuras sarah in almost the exact opposite light:
ונזכרה זאת הפרשה להודיע מעלת ארץ ישראל על כל הארצות לחיים ולמתים. ועוד לקיים דבר ד' לאברהם להיות לו נחלה
Rabbeinu Yonah thinks that making Avraham pay for the land, after he was already promised it, is in some sense a violation of that havtacha. The Ibn Ezra, on the other hand, thinks that hi gufa - this was the fulfillment of Hashem's promise to Avraham.
Parenthetically, the Ramban argues on both Rabbeinu Yonah and the Ibn Ezra:
ולא ידעתי טעם לדברי רבי אברהם שאומר להודיע מעלת ארץ ישראל לחיים ולמתים, ועוד לקיים לו דבר השם להיות לו נחלה, כי מה מעלה לארץ בזה כי לא יוליכנה אל ארץ אחרת לקברה, ודבר השם לאברהם על כל הארץ היה ונתקיים רק בזרעו
For the Ramban, Avraham's purchase of machpela was neither an abnegation nor a fulfillment of Hashem's havtacha, because that havtacha was only meant to be fulfilled generations later through zera Avraham. This machlokes rishonim seems to parallel the machlokes between the respective shepherds of Lot and Avraham, which does seem a little strange.
Getting back to the Ibn Ezra and his dispute with R Yonah, I suggest that the Ibn Ezra's approach has historically been an important part of Zionist history. When we began to return to EY in the 19th and 20th centuries, we had to buy the land back from its inhabitants. We've had to fight for it, and it has come (and continues to come) at a heavy price. All this shouldn't be seen as a violation of Hashem's havtacha -- to the contrary, it is a fulfillment thereof. Hashem promised us the land, but he didn't promise that it would come free.
Nonetheless, the words of the Rabbeinu Yonah echo - if Hashem promised us the land, why is there so much suffering for our brothers and sisters who live there? Let us pray for the security and safety of our brethren in Israel, and all around the world.
