After the decision of an Israeli court, Eitan, the only survivor of the fatal cable car accident on Lake Maggiore, has returned to Italy.
The plane from Tel Aviv with the boy and his aunt on his father's side, Aya Biran-Nirko, landed in Bergamo on Friday shortly after 10:00 p.m., as reported by several Italian media.
The six-year-old lost his parents, great-grandparents and a little brother on May 23 when a gondola crashed on Monte Mottarone with 14 dead.
He later stayed with his aunt in the Italian city of Pavia.
A custody dispute broke out over the boy between the aunt and the relatives in Israel. Eitan's grandfather and an accomplice had brought him back to Israel in a private plane via Switzerland on September 11th, contrary to a court order. The highest court in Jerusalem decided on Monday that the boy should return to Italy, thereby confirming the decisions of the lower courts. In the judgment, the judiciary relied on the Hague Child Abduction Convention. The grandfather kidnapped the child and wanted to keep it in Israel.
The legal dispute is not over yet: Another hearing is expected at the Guardianship Court in Milan on December 9th.
With this, the family in Israel wants to withdraw custody of the aunt.
In addition, the responsible public prosecutor in Pavia had issued an international arrest warrant against the grandfather and his alleged accomplice.
The latter was arrested in Cyprus and, according to media reports, interrogated.