Parliament scuffle clip is from Georgia, not Israel

"Fighting at the Israel parliament," reads a Burmese-language Facebook post on June 19, 2025.

It shares footage of a man in a podium being punched before cutting to another angle showing a scuffle. The clip has been viewed more than 280,000 times.

"The fighting is began in Israely knesset (sic)," reads its text overlay, referring to Israel's legislature.

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Screenshot of the false post taken July 4, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The video also surfaced on Instagram as arch foes Iran and Israel traded devastating missile attacks after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities.

The strikes left more than 900 people dead in Iran and 28 people dead in Israel. A ceasefire announced on June 24 ended the fighting (archived link).

While there have been reports of a clash at Israel's parliament before the war, AFP found no official accounts about the event being described in the false posts (archived link).

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the British newspaper The Guardian published a clearer and longer version of the video on April 15, 2024 (archived link).

"MPs came to blows during a debate in parliament on a controversial foreign agents' bill after opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili punched the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, in the face during a speech," reads the caption.

Corresponding footage can also be viewed on AFP's archives.

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) with the video from AFP's archives

The "foreign agents" measure sparked daily demonstrations in Georgia, with critics accusing the government of using Russian-inspired tactics to target its opponents. Opponents say new legislation passed to replace the law is also prone to abuse (archived link).

The room shown in the video matches a photo published on the Parliament of Georgia's website but does not resemble pictures of the Knesset (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of video (L) with picture of Georgia's parliament with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

AFP has debunked more misinformation related to Iran-Israel war here.