Brawl on Jordanian TV
Brawl on Jordanian TVScreenshot

A Jordanian Member of Parliament hurled his shoe at a former MP and then drew his handgun, in the course of a televised debate between the two.

The altercation took place when MP Mohammed al-Shawabka faced off against former MP Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad, who identifies openly with Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. Murad is the only Jordanian politician who has met Assad after the rebellion against his regime began last year, and he continues to head delegations that visit Damascus.

In the televised segment, Shawabka called Murad "a Syrian agent," accused him of spreading rumors against Jordan and said he was "despicable."

Murad retorted by saying Shawabka is "an agent of the Mossad," accusing him of "buying people with money" and added "may your father be cursed" for good measure.

This was too much for Shawabka, who threw a shoe at Murad and then pulled out his handgun and began advancing toward Murad. The anchor managed to keep the two from hurting each other, but Murad filed a police complaint against Shawabka for attempted murder.