What’s behind Israel’s growing shift to the right?

Three years on from the October 7 attacks, Al Jazeera reports that Israel’s political landscape has continued moving in a rightward direction. The change has had the effect of sidelining political forces and public voices that advocate for a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. That narrowing of the mainstream debate reflects a broader reorientation of political priorities within Israeli society.

While the October 7 attacks are often cited as a pivotal moment, the report emphasizes that the rightward drift did not begin on that date. Instead, the trend had been developing over a number of years prior to the attacks, suggesting deeper structural and political currents underpinning the shift. This longer-term trajectory helps explain why the post-attack environment accelerated an existing realignment rather than creating it from scratch.

The sidelining of pro-settlement voices signals changing prospects for diplomatic engagement. With fewer influential advocates for compromise inside the political mainstream, pathways toward negotiated solutions with the Palestinians face heightened obstacles. The report frames the post-October 7 period as one in which existing rightward momentum intensified, producing measurable effects on public debate and policy orientation.

Al Jazeera’s analysis, presented by Nour Odeh, situates the contemporary political shift in a broader historical context. By linking the present-day consolidation of right-leaning positions to trends that predate October 7, the piece underscores that current developments are part of an ongoing transformation in Israeli politics rather than a sudden, isolated reaction to a single event.