Mowing the grass

This article is about the Israeli military tactic. For the activity from which it gets its name, see Lawn mower.

Mowing the grass (Hebrew: כיסוח דשא) is a metaphor used to describe a strategy used by Israel against Palestinian militants[1] in the Gaza Strip.[1][2]

The term was coined by Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir.[3] These are usually carried out by conducting short, sharp military operations to maintain a certain level of control over the area without committing to a long-term political solution, similar to how one would mow a lawn to keep it neat and tidy.[4]

According to Adam Taylor in The Washington Post, "the phrase implies the Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and their supply of crude but effective homemade weapons are like weeds that need to be cut back."[1]

Naftali Bennett referred to the idea in a speech in 2018 when he said "מי שלא מכסח את הדשא, הדשא מכסח אותו ('He who does not mow the grass, the grass mows him')."[5]

References

1. Taylor, Adam (14 May 2021). "With strikes targeting rockets and tunnels, the Israeli tactic of 'mowing the grass' returns to Gaza". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on Nov 22, 2023.
2. Byman, Daniel (2023-11-27). "Mowing the Grass and Taking Out the Trash". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
3. Reiff, Ben (2018-05-10). "'Mowing the Grass' and the Force/Casualty Tradeoff: Israel's predictable response to the Gaza protests". Middle East Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
4. Cohen, Raphael S. (2023-10-19). "Opinion: The problem with Israel's futile Gaza strategy, explained". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
5. רובינשטיין, רועי (2018-09-04). "בנט: "מי שלא מכסח את הדשא, הדשא מכסח אותו"". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-11-30.

Further reading

• Inbar, Efraim; Shamir, Eitan (2014). "'Mowing the Grass': Israel's Strategy for Protracted Intractable Conflict". Journal of Strategic Studies. 37 (1): 65–90. doi:10.1080/01402390.2013.830972.
• Gibilisco, Michael (July 2023). "Mowing the grass". Journal of Theoretical Politics. 35 (3): 204–231. doi:10.1177/09516298231185113.
• Inbar, Efraim; Shamir, Eitan (2014). Mowing the Grass in Gaza (Report). JSTOR resrep04496.
• Shkolnik, Michael (4 May 2017). "'Mowing the Grass' and Operation Protective Edge: Israel's strategy for protracted asymmetric conflict with Hamas". Canadian Foreign Policy Journal. 23 (2): 185–189. doi:10.1080/11926422.2016.1229684.
• Tweissi, Basim (2024). "How Israel Lost the 2023 Gaza Propaganda War". Al-Muntaqa. 7 (1): 127–141. JSTOR 48775010.