A heated television debate between a Jordanian member of parliament and a local activist this week led to the parliamentarian pulling a gun on the activist in front of the cameras.
The MP, Mohammed Shawabka, was debating a political activist named Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad, a former MP who openly supports the regime in Syria. Murad is the only Jordanian politician who met with President Bashar Assad after the outbreak of the revolution in Syria and he continues to lead delegations to Damascus.
Shawabka criticized Murad and accused him of being “an agent of Syria” and of spreading slander against Jordan. In response, Murad accused Shawabka of being “an agent of the Israeli Mossad” and of buying people’s votes with money.
In response to the accusations, Shawabka took off his shoe and threw it at Murad, and then immediately pulled out a gun, got up and walked over to Murad. A brawl then erupted in the studio between the two, as the host tried to separate them.
