The Ghost of Snapped Shot

CAMERA Snapshots (no relation) is reporting that Spanish AP photographer Emilio Morenatti was freed either late last night or earlier today. I don't have any details yet, but as soon as I get them, I'll have 'em here!

According to the Associated Press, unnamed gunmen dropped Emilio off at the offices of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The group has not named themselves, or otherwise attempted to take credit for his kidnapping, and officials in the government are labeling them merely as "criminals."

He said the kidnappers held him for about four hours in a small room where a masked man visited him. Later he was dressed as a woman, put in a car and taken to another location.

"They put a bag on my head, and they dressed me up as a woman, as a woman in a long veil," he said.

In one of the reports yesterday, Emilio's brother was quoted as saying that he is "tired" of covering Israel, and hopes to be able to move on to an assignment elsewhere. I hope that, after this, his wish is granted most swiftly!

I'm still inclined to think that Emilio was being used as a pawn in the current Hamas/Fatah intifada, and that his release was due to some type of concession between the two groups. It's also possible (and I am not saying that this is likely, but am merely listing it as a possibility) that he was "abducted" and given new orders by his captors, which would imply that he'd continue to remain in the region covering the Israeli/Palestinian conflict some more.

Hopefully, as time goes on, more sense can be made of this situation.

 Tags: emilio morenatti AP #Intifada