Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East involving Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran, a video (here, here and here) circulating on social media shows a man being attacked while delivering a speech. In the clip, an assailant is seen attacking the speaker, who is knocked out on the spot, while security officials apprehend the attacker. The video is shared with the claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was attacked by his own Senate members. Let’s verify the truth behind this video.
Claim: Visuals showing a man attacking a speaker with a gun in a congress are of an Israeli Senate member attacking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Fact: The viral video, dated 19 January 2013, shows Oktai Enimehmedov, an ethnic Turk, attempting to attack Ahmed Dogan, the leader of Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedoms, during a party congress in Sofia. The attack was carried out with a gas pistol, and Enimehmedov was immediately subdued by security. This video has no connection to the Israeli Senate or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hence the claim is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we performed a keyword search on Google using terms related to Netanyahu’s attack but found no credible reports. A reverse image search of stills from the viral video led us to a post on X by John Brouwer de Koning, featuring an image from the video with the caption: “TODAY 10 YEARS AGO: 19/01/2013 Sofia, Bulgaria: Oktai Enimehmedov (25) walks into a congress of the liberal party with a gun and 2 knives, targeting speaker Ahmed Dogan of the Turkish minority party. The gun misfired and he was overpowered by guards.”
Further research using keywords from the X post led us to a YouTube video by On Demand News, posted on 19 January 2013, titled “Gun attack during televised conference in Bulgaria.” The video shows the same incident where Oktai Enimehmedov approaches the stage, attempts to reload his weapon, and tries to attack Ahmed Dogan, the leader of Bulgaria’s Turkish minority party, before being apprehended by security personnel.
Further research led us to several reports (here, here and here) about this incident. According to BBC News and Reuters, on 19 January 2013, during a party congress in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ahmed Dogan, leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), was targeted by Oktai Enimehmedov, a 25-year-old ethnic Turk, who attempted to shoot him with a gas pistol, but the gun misfired. Enimehmedov, with a criminal history and carrying two knives, claimed he wanted to show Dogan was not “untouchable.” Speculation arose that the attack might have been staged to boost Dogan’s image, but the Bulgarian Prime Minister dismissed this theory. Dogan, unharmed, returned to the congress hours later to announce his resignation and received a standing ovation. This video has no connection with Israel’s Senate or Netanyahu.
To sum up, an old video of an attack at a Bulgarian party congress is being falsely shared as an attack on Netanyahu in the Israeli Senate.
