Judge Iris Ilotovich-Segal of a Tel Aviv family court ruled on Monday that Eitan Biran, the sole survivor of the Stresa–Mottarone cable car crash disaster in May must be handed by to the custody of his aunt in Italy.
The decision was released in view of the Hague Convention regarding the abduction of minors following a dispute between the aunt and the family in Israel.
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"The grandfather has taken the kid far away from his regular place of living," wrote the judge, enforcing the decision that the boy, who lost his parents, brother, and two great-grandparents, must go back to Italy and take back residence under the guardianship of his paternal aunt, Aya Biran.
"The does not concur with the grandfather's notion that Israel is Eitan's regular place of living nor the notion that the boy has two residences," added judge Ilotovich-Segal.
Furthermore, the Israeli court has ordered the grandfather, Shmuel Peleg, to pay NIS 70,000 ($21,800) in court fees. Meanwhile,e Italian authorities continue to investigate the man for the alleged kidnapping.
Apart from the Bira family members, another nine people died when a cable car plunged to the ground along the mountain of Mottarone in Northern Italy. After the accident, Eitan moved in with his paternal aunt, Aya Biran, but was soon after taken by his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Peleg, across the nearby border of Switzerland and then on a private jet to Tel Aviv.
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