World Today 2025-10-17

GAZA / INTERNATIONAL:  PAKISTAN, INDONESIA, AZERBAIJAN WEIGH JOINING GAZA SECURITY FORCE.

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-870690

'So far, Indonesia is the only country to publicly offer troops, saying it could deploy 20,000 soldiers under a United Nations (UN) mandated peacekeeping mission, something not outlined in Trump’s Gaza peace deal.'

UK / ISRAEL:  TOMMY ROBINSON IN ISRAEL.

https://www.rebelnews.com/the_west_must_wake_up_tommy_robinson_stands_at_israel_s_frontline

The Rebel's Avi Yemini talks with Tommy Robinson during Tommy's visit to Israel.

RUSSIA / INTERNATIONAL:  COUNTRIES WEIGH RUSSIAN OIL SANCTIONS.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew418r5rxdo

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/some-indian-refiners-prepare-cut-russian-oil-imports-sources-say-2025-10-16/

The UK is sanctioning Russia's two biggest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, according to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.  Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said India would stop buying Russian oil.

COMMENTS.

I'm surprised but pleased to see that Israel did not cave to pressure from some establishment groups and cancel Tommy's visit, and that the UK - where he's facing yet another batch of criminal charges - allowed him to go.

World today 2025-10-13

 ISRAEL:  ALL LIVING HOSTAGES FREED FROM HAMAS CAPTIVITY IN GAZA.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416200

'After 738 days, Hamas is no longer holding any living hostages; the 13 last living hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross, and the other seven are already in Israel. Some of the deceased hostages will be returned to Israel in the afternoon.'

Commentary.  Like many supporters of Israel and of President Donald Trump, I've had serious questions about the direction of Trump's Middle East policy.  But none of that takes away from the fact that all 20 living hostages have been freed and returned to Israeli care, and as of this hour the Gaza ceasefire appears to be holding.

I am still not sure what to think about Trump's 20-point peace plan, or about his vision for peace accords spanning the greater Muslim world.  

One thing I do think is significant, though, is the name of one country that keeps cropping up in these discussions:  the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, which isn't in the Mideast at all but in the Pacific.  That's Indonesia, with almost the same population as the United States.

And in the wider world of global politics and security, Indonesia could be a key player in any future confrontation with China.  I remember reading analyses over the past year, saying that DJT's main focus is not the Mideast but the Pacific; and if there's a sense of urgency to his Mideast policy, it is in the context of a drive to tie up all the loose ends and to remove the unresolved conflicts in the Mideast (and elsewhere) as distractions, in order to position the playing pieces so as to confront China from a position of strength.