Israel Shifts Paradigm: Moving from “Mowing” Model to “Total Victory” Strategy
mehr News Agency, International Desk, Mohammadreza Moradi, Director of International Affairs and Foreign News at Mehr News Agency wrote in an analysis:
The Zionist regime, as a regional actor in the Middle East, has employed various strategies over decades to manage security threats and maintain its superiority. One such approach,known as the “lawn mowing model,” involved limited and periodic military operations aimed at containing competitors and enemies. This strategy was focused on preserving the status quo to secure the occupying regime’s interests before October 7, 2023-the date of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm. However, developments sence then reveal a paradigm shift in Israeli foreign policy from containment toward “total victory” and redefining regional order.
The lawn mowing model-which has been discussed by Israeli military and political analysts-refers to tactics involving limited periodic strikes against resistance groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The goal was to trim these “overgrown” threats without fundamentally altering the regional structure. As Adam Taylor wrote in The Washington Post, “This phrase means that Palestinian groups in Gaza with their crude but effective weapons are like grass needing trimming.” Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett referenced this idea during a 2018 speech: “מי שלא מכסח את הדשא, הדשא מכסח אותו”-roughly translated as “He who does not mow the lawn will be swallowed by it.”
This pre-October 2023 approach centered on airstrikes, targeted assassinations, and intermittent ground clashes designed to avoid escalation or long-term costs. As an example, Israel’s assaults on gaza in 2008, 2012, and 2014 were examples aiming to weaken Hamas’s military capabilities while deterring further attacks. The Israel Defense Forces believed this model best protected their interests by maintaining relative short-term stability but revealed its weaknesses during October 2023 when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack killing or capturing many Israelis.
Following October 7 operations there has been a clear move from “lawn mowing” toward a “total victory” strategy. Operation Al-Aqsa Storm marked a turning point that discredited previous methods and pushed Netanyahu toward revisionist policies focused on completely eliminating enemies while restructuring regional order under Israeli dominance. Since then, extensive campaigns have targeted Hamas in Gaza; Hezbollah in Lebanon; Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen; Iran; Syria; as well as occupation of parts of southern Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s fall-alongside repeated strikes against Lebanon and attacks inside Iran itself-all reflecting this new policy aimed at reshaping power relations across the region.
Netanyahu regards establishing regional stability aligned with Israeli interests as paramount within this new framework-even referring openly to his aspirations for a Greater Israel vision. U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack recently confirmed that Israel now views borders differently following October 7th attacks: he noted that Israelis consider Sykes-Picot lines ”meaningless.” In an interview podcast he emphasized Israelis’ belief they will go wherever necessary for self-defense-signaling Tel Aviv’s transformed border perspective post-hamas assault.
However this approach has sparked widespread instability across Lebanon,Yemen,and Syria-a chaotic environment Netanyahu appears willing to leverage as part of his vision for forming a new order. Instead of fostering stability,the intensified violence-including over sixty-three thousand deaths caused by ongoing Gazan offensives-and thousands killed through conflicts such as assassinations targeting Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah-demonstrate policies promoting destruction rather than peace or coexistence.
Despite some tactical successes,the new stance carries strategic setbacks.Compared with prior Arab openness towards normalization under agreements like abraham Accords,this shift now provokes significant risks.Countries such as Saudi Arabia-which had moved close towards normalization before October 2023-have shifted stances demanding establishment of an self-reliant Palestinian state amid public criticism after warfare escalated.Further reports from The Washington Post reveal these Arab states emphasize regional stability especially after recent twelve-day conflict phases coupled with Iranian confrontation efforts,and increasingly distance themselves from unilateral Israeli measures.
A notable fact remains despite relentless campaigns,Iran,Hizbollah,Houthi forces,and Hamas endure albeit weakened.Global pressures-from European initiatives recognizing Palestine diplomatically-to growing international delegitimization present formidable obstacles challenging Netanyahu’s agendas.
Prominent international relations theorist Stephen Walt articulated -in analyses reflected within outlets like The New York Times-that “everything has changed yet nothing is different” regarding middle Eastern dynamics.He argues although Israel diminished adversaries’ strengths,the underlying regional order persists embedded within old conflicts centered around unresolved Palestinian issues.Assad’s downfall,weakened resistance axis,and attacks on Iran may have boosted Israeli power,but failed to deliver lasting peace.Walt stresses unless political solutions addressing palestine emerge,new visions advanced by Netanyahu cannot materialize effectively.
the conversion from lawn mowing tactics toward total victory under Netanyahu signals ambitions for redefining Middle Eastern realities.Yet this methodology leads rather into increased chaos,diplomatic isolation,and resilient opposition.Israel’s erstwhile Arab prospects show growing reluctance viewing normalization fraught with risks.Walt’s perspectives confirm without structural changes between israel-Palestine relations,new orders can only replicate former deadlock.This situation forecasts uncertain futures where revisionist plans deepen rather than resolve enduring crises throughout the region.
