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 in the Gaza Strip.^[1][2] The strategy is 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.^[3]

The term was coined by Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir,^[4] two columnists for The Jerusalem Post and strategic studies researchers.^[5][6]

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').^[7]