Shmuel Peleg, the maternal grandfather of the six-year-old boy who was the sole survivor of a cable car crash in Northern Italy in May, was questioned by the police on Tuesday and sent home to five days of house arrest after he illegally took the grandchild to Israel, The Jerusalem Post has confirmed.
Earlier in the day, the boy’s paternal relatives, who were assigned the custody of the child, petitioned a family court in Tel Aviv to ask for his return.
Eitan Biran was picked up on Saturday at his Pavia, Italy, home for a routine visit by his grandfather, but it later emerged that the boy had been illegally brought to Israel on a private flight.
Immediately after she learned that the child was in Israel, Biran’s aunt Aya filed a request in Italian court, where an investigation against Peleg for suspected kidnapping was opened.
Peleg’s lawyers in Italy have acknowledged that he had taken the boy to Israel saying that he had “acted on impulse,” as he was worried about his grandson’s health, and after being excluded from legal proceedings related to the boy’s custody.
According to a statement by the Peleg family, Peleg cooperated with the police and answered all the questions. He was released to his home under restrictive conditions until Friday.
"Eitan's arrival in Israel was carried out in a legal way and after legal consultations," Peleg said.
Attorney Armando Simbari, who is helping the paternal aunt in the case, said they were confident of getting the boy returned.
“We know there are legal instruments to bring back a child who was taken from his home in this fashion,” he said. “There are international norms... signed by Israel.”
Italian media reported on Tuesday that the Italian Foreign Ministry has already contacted its Israeli counterpart to discuss the issue.
The crash caused the deaths of 14 people, including Eitan’s father, Amit, his mother, Tal Peleg, his one-year-old brother, Tom, and his great-grandparents, Barbara Cohen Konisky and Itshak Cohen.
Italian authorities assigned Eitan’s custody to his aunt Aya, Amit’s sister and a doctor who lives with her family, including two daughters around Eitan’s age, in the suburbs of Pavia. The Biran family had moved there five years ago to allow Amit to study medicine.
In recent months, however, harsh controversies have emerged between Eitan’s paternal and maternal relatives, with the latter accusing the former of keeping the child “hostage,” and of disregarding his Israeli and Jewish identity.Meanwhile, the Peleg family has hired super communication strategist Ronen Tzur, who in the past was an adviser to Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Reuters contributed to this report.