Is Israel using Gaza's 'mowing the lawn' strategy in the West Bank?

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday referenced Israel's 'mowing the lawn' military strategy in the latest operation on the occupied West Bank, which has seen the Palestinian territory face one of its biggest raids in two decades.

Jenin, Tulkarem, and Far'a camp, near Tubas, have been the focus of the Israeli military assaults aimed at "dismantling" Palestinian armed factions in the northern West Bank.

Five people were killed by Israeli strikes early on Thursday in Tubas - the latest attack in the week-long assault, adding to a total of 35 killed.

Fears of more intensified violence have seen dozens of families forced to flee their homes in Jenin, local media reported on Thursday, while streets and shops have been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers with access to electricity and water hampered.

A funeral was held on Wednesday for a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who was shot and killed by Israeli forces as she was inside her home in Kafr Dan, just outside Jenin.

One Palestinian man told AFP that he had not been able to leave his home for eight days due to the attacks in Jenin, adding that many residents had fled,

The camp has faced years of Israeli raids seeking fighters, including from the Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli raids usually see camps stormed by military vehicles or hit by air strikes, as well as violent troop searches to detain residents. Buildings and streets are often churned up by Israeli bulldozers, with the camps taking months to recover.

Clashes have surged in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war on 7 October with Israeli troops or settlers killing at least 661 Palestinians, according to the health ministry.

Speaking after a meeting with officers on Wednesday, Gallant claimed that "the rise of terror" in the West Bank had prompted the military raids which began on 28 August, according to Israeli media.

"The process is an attack to prevent terror. We are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done," he said.

Gallant's use of the "mowing the lawn" phrase harks to previous Israeli military operations in Gaza, which has faced five major assaults since 2008.

The "mowing the lawn" or "mowing the grass" phrase used by the country's military leaders refers to a strategy to diminish Hamas' fighting capabilities and capacity to harm Israel.

By occasional but large-scale short operations, Israel hopes that the morale and strength of resistance fighters will fizzle out.

According to such a strategy, Israel would heavily target commanders and decimate arms supplies with the belief that the attacks work as a temporary deterrent to weaken the group for a limited time only.

Right-wing politician and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also used the phrase in 2018 in reference to fighting Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank, saying "He who does not mow the grass, the grass mows him".

The phrase was coined by Israeli journalists Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shami in a The Jerusalem Post article in 2014 to describe then Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

"Israel is acting to severely punish Hamas for its aggressive behaviour and degrading its military capabilities – aiming at achieving a period of quiet," the article reads.

Gallant's comments this week, however, go further by warning of a time when "we will put out the roots", suggesting the possibility of a larger military operation in the West Bank.

Such an offensive would threaten the safety of the 3 million Palestinians living there, who are already in growing danger from Israeli settler attacks and government-led land grabs.

Far-right members of the Israeli government have publicly stated their wish to establish total Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, despite it being a breach of international law.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa this week said that the destruction of the towns from the Israeli raids might be the worst in over 20 years.