In the custody dispute over six-year-old Eitan, his return to Italy to see his aunt on his father's side is getting closer and closer.
A district court in Tel Aviv on Friday rejected Eitan's maternal grandfather's objection to the judge's order in the first instance.
Shmuel P. had brought his grandson, the only survivor of the cable car accident on Lake Maggiore at the end of May, to Israel in September, although a family court in Italy had ordered Eitan's stay with his aunt in Pavia near Milan. The Pavia public prosecutor has issued an international arrest warrant against Shmuel P. on charges of child abduction and is demanding that Israel be extradited. Shmuel P. has appealed against his arrest and also appealed against the second court judgment on Eitan.
The decision on Eitan's whereabouts in the last instance should be made immediately after the objection period has expired at the end of next week.
The second court ruling on Eitan's return to Italy is also linked to the ruling that Shmuel P. has to bear the procedural costs and court costs of the opposing party amounting to the equivalent of 14,000 euros.