The Zionist regime, as a regional actor in the Middle East, has for decades employed various strategies to manage security threats and maintain its superiority. One of these strategies, known as the “mowing the grass” model, was an approach based on containing rivals and enemies through limited and periodic military operations. This model, employed before Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7, 2023, was focused on preserving the status quo to secure the interests of the occupying regime of al-Quds. However, developments since that date indicate a paradigm shift in the foreign policy of the Zionist regime, moving from a policy of “containment” toward “complete victory” and the redefinition of the regional order.
The “mowing the grass” model, raised by Zionist military and political analysts, referred to the strategy of limited and periodic attacks against resistance groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, aimed at trimming the “tall grass” of threats without fundamentally changing the regional structure. 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.” Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett referred to this idea in a 2018 speech, saying that he who does not mow the grass, the grass will consume him.
This approach, dominant prior to October 2023, was based on airstrikes, targeted assassinations, and limited ground confrontations, designed to prevent escalation and long-term costs. For example, the Zionist regime’s attacks on the Gaza Strip in 2008, 2012, and 2014 were instances of this strategy, aimed at weakening Hamas’s military capabilities and establishing deterrence. The reason for adopting this approach was the occupying army’s belief that this model best secured its interests. Although the “mowing the grass” model created relative short-term stability, it proved its failure in October 2023, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the Zionist regime, killing or capturing large numbers of Zionists.
After October 7, 2023, we are witnessing a shift from the “mowing the grass” model to the “complete victory” strategy. The Al-Aqsa Storm marked a turning point that discredited the mowing strategy and pushed Netanyahu toward a revisionist approach. This new approach, which can be called “complete victory,” is focused on the total destruction of enemies and restructuring the regional order on the basis of Zionist domination. Since this attack, the occupying regime has launched extensive operations against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansarallah in Yemen, Iran, and Syria. The occupation of parts of southern Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s fall, repeated attacks on Lebanon, and strikes on Iran are part of this revisionist policy aimed at redefining the region’s power relations. Netanyahu considers the creation of regional stability in line with Zionist interests the most important goal of this new approach. In this context, Netanyahu has even spoken of his larger dreams such as “Greater Israel.” Thomas Barrack, the US envoy to Syria, recently stated that after the “October 7” attack, the Zionist regime has a new outlook on borders and regards the lines drawn in the Sykes-Picot Agreement as “meaningless.” In a podcast interview, Barrack emphasized that Israelis believe they will go wherever necessary to protect themselves, adding that Tel Aviv’s view of borders has changed since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
However, this approach has been accompanied by the creation of regional chaos, including heightened tensions in Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria. In fact, regional chaos has emerged as Netanyahu’s new tool for achieving a “new order,” but contrary to expectations, it has led to greater instability. The occupiers’ attacks on Gaza, which have so far left more than 63,000 dead, and operations in Lebanon, which resulted in thousands of deaths, including the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah, reflect an approach that promotes destruction and occupation rather than stability.
Despite tactical successes, the new approach of the Zionist regime has had negative strategic consequences. Arab countries that previously sought normalization of relations with the Zionist regime through the Abraham Accords now see this process as a major strategic risk. Saudi Arabia, which had been close to normalization before October 2023, changed its position after the Gaza war and widespread popular criticism, making the establishment of a Palestinian state a condition. Reports from the Washington Post indicate that these countries, especially after the 12-day war and the Zionist regime’s attack on Iran, have emphasized regional stability and distanced themselves from unilateral Zionist actions.
What is noteworthy is that despite all the actions and efforts of the Zionist regime, its enemies, such as Iran, Hezbollah, Ansarallah, and Hamas, though having suffered blows, still endure. This persistence, combined with global pressures such as European countries’ efforts to recognize the State of Palestine or the decline of the Zionist regime’s international legitimacy, has created serious challenges for Netanyahu’s plan.
Stephen Walt, a prominent international relations theorist, in an analysis reflected in major media such as the New York Times, argues that in the Middle East, everything has changed, but nothing has changed. He believes that although the Zionist regime has managed to weaken its enemies, the regional order is still based on old conflicts and the unresolved Palestinian issue. The fall of Assad, the weakening of the Resistance Axis, and attacks on Iran, although strengthening the Zionist regime, have not resulted in the creation of a stable order. Walt stresses that without accepting a political solution for Palestine, Netanyahu’s dream of a new order will not be realized.
Ultimately, the shift in the Zionist regime’s approach from the “mowing the grass” model to “complete victory” under Netanyahu reflects an ambition to redefine the Middle East. However, this strategy, by creating regional chaos, diplomatic isolation, and the persistence of the regime’s enemies, has reached a dead end. Arab countries that had previously been inclined toward normalization now consider this process too risky. Walt’s perspective also confirms the reality that without a structural change in the Zionist regime’s relations with Palestine, the new Middle East order will be nothing but the continuation of the old order. This situation outlines an uncertain future for Netanyahu’s revisionist plans, which, rather than leading to victory, have deepened the regional crisis.
Mohammadreza Moradi is the Director General of International and Foreign News at Mehr News Agency
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