Mr Muhammad Hamza Tanvir is an independent journalist and a political analyst, focusing primarily on regional and global strategic and political issues. He has authored numerous articles for different national and international publications.
The Israel-Hamas war was the most polarizing and famous conflict of the world in 2023. More than 21700 people have been martyred by Israel in Gaza. Israel’s genocidal operations in Gaza sparked pessimism among the people about the effectiveness of international institutions. A huge number of people around the world support innocent civilians and are calling for a peaceful solution to the issue, but the other group supports the brutal massacre of Israel.
Unfortunately, the United States and some of its allies have strived to their fullest to reject all the resolutions presented by the United Nations calling for a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip. Many political philosophers and analysts hold that the West, especially the United States, have economic ambitions behind their support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The arms and weapon industry make a colossal part of the economy of the United States. The Israel-Hamas war has filled the vacuum created by the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. After the commencement of the Israel-Hamas war, the US weapon makers asked their investors to expect huge profits. Furthermore, Israel holds a clandestine plan to construct the Ben Gurion Canal which will pass through the Gaza Strip.
Many analysts hold that the recent ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people by Israel is intended to reduce the cost of this canal. This canal will decrease the Western dependence on the Suez Canal. Moreover, a huge amount of gas reserves has also been discovered off the shores of Gaza. Recently, Israel has permitted different companies to explore the gas reserves in the region. All this demonstrates the covert aims of Israel behind its ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
The war in Gaza is now expanding beyond the region, with Houthi forces from Yemen having declared war against Israel. They are now targeting vessels passing through the Red Sea. The rationale behind these attacks is to pressure the world to coerce Israel for a ceasefire in the region. These attacks can disrupt global supply which could lead to increasing inflation globally.
The continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war is also a significant persistent issue. The war commenced in 2021 as a corollary of Ukraine’s attempt to join NATO. Russia had warned Ukraine and the West multiple times against this move as this was a sheer violation of the United States’ agreement with Russia which included the prohibition of westward expansion of NATO.
Numerous Western philosophers, including Noam Chomsky, also blamed NATO and the West for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This war has sparked an energy crisis in Europe and has global ramifications. However, the United States stands out to be the main beneficiary of this war. Many European leaders and diplomats have blamed the United States for selling LNG at a much higher price than usual. This has augmented inflation in the European Union along with sparking an energy crisis for the global south.
The year 2023 also proved to be a year of instability and chaos for Pakistan. On 9th May 2023, military and intelligence installations were attacked for the first time in the history of the country. These attacks caused a loss of almost PKR 6 billion to the economy of the country. Over 540000 educated and skilled people left the country in the first 7 months of the year as a result of economic instability and lack of unemployment rate in the country.
Political unrest and chaos also ensued a new wave of terrorism in the country. Reports suggest that the country observed an almost 67 percent rise in terrorist activities in the country. The installation of the Taliban government in Afghanistan has also contributed to this rise in terrorism in Pakistan. As per the government officials, terrorist organizations like the TTP, ISKP, and BLA use Afghan soil for conducting terrorism in Pakistan. Overall, Pakistan found the year replete with uncertainties and chaos.
The most significant event that increased the power of China, this year, was the expansion of the BRICS. Six new countries have been added to the BRICS and almost 40 countries have shown their interest in the membership of the organization. This event decreased the power of the United States which then attempted to strengthen relations with India and increased its presence in the Indo-Pacific region to counter the increasing influence of China.
Successful mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia also added to the soft power of China. On the other hand, the soft image of the United States has tarnished significantly during the year due to its support to Israel in the latter’s war crimes in Gaza. China and the United States have now emerged as arch-rivals of the century. However, the recent meeting between Biden and Xi Jinping has resulted in ending the year with optimism as both sides demonstrated willingness to mend their ties.
In addition, different countries of the global south, especially the Middle Eastern and African countries, also faced chaos due to wars, political and economic crises, and military coups. Overall, the year was full of chaotic events and is now passing uncertainty to the coming year.
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