Little Eitan (6) was the only one who survived the gondola accident on Lake Maggiore.
His grandfather had "kidnapped" the boy to Israel.
Now a court has decided.
Tel Aviv - The fate of little Eitan moves.
The six-year-old was the only one who survived the cable car accident on Lake Maggiore.
His parents, his brother and his great-grandparents died in the terrible accident on Pentecost Sunday.
While Eitan was recovering from his injuries, a new drama loomed: A custody battle over little Eitan broke out.
Then Italian media reported a "kidnapping".
Eitan is said to have been brought to Israel by his grandfather.
The bereaved relatives of the deceased mother had secretly taken the orphans out of the country, contrary to a court order.
After the cable car accident: Eitan allegedly kidnapped?
After the fatal cable car accident, a court had appointed the sister of the fatally injured father, who lived in Pavia, as guardian.
The aunt had taken care of the nephew.
She and doctors told Eitan about the death of his parents.
The aunt demanded the return of six-year-old Eitan to Italy in court.
Drama about Eitan - the court only decides where the boy is
The family court in Tel Aviv has now ordered the boy's return to Italy.
The grandfather, who lives in Israel, also has to pay around 19,000 euros in court costs, according to an excerpt from the judgment on Monday.
However, the ruling by the Tel Aviv court is not a decision as to who will have permanent custody of Eitan.
It initially only regulates the boy's current whereabouts.
Italy or Israel - where should Eitan grow up?
Legal guardianship proceedings are currently pending in Milan and are expected to continue on December 1st.
Eitan was born in Israel, according to media reports, but moved to Italy with his parents shortly after the birth.
He therefore has an Israeli and an Italian passport.
The aunt had said about the proceedings that Pavia in Lombardy was the home of the boy who should have started school in Italy in September.
According to the reports, his mother's family living in Israel had argued that the parents had specifically planned to move back to Israel.
They looked at schools for the boy and tried to buy an apartment that was subsidized by the government.
The boy should grow up in Israel.
In its judgment, the court wrote that shortly after the accident in May, the grandfather agreed that the aunt would become the boy's guardian.
A dispute then developed over whether this should be a temporary or a long-term solution.
The grandfather sued Aya Biran-Nirko's guardianship in Italy.
The verdict said the court did not accept the grandfather's argument that the boy's regular abode was Israel - nor that he had two regular abodes, Israel and Italy.
It also rejected the argument that the boy's return to Italy would harm him.
In its judgment, the court referred to the Hague Child Abduction Convention - an international agreement to which both Israel and Italy have signed.
This is intended to protect children from kidnapping or deportation to other countries.
It also provides for children to be returned to the state where they were previously and accustomed to as soon as possible.
When that would be in the case of little Eitan was not stated in the court document.
Italian prosecutor investigates child abduction
The public prosecutor of the Italian city of Pavia started investigations against the grandfather for child abduction in September.
Eitan's grandmother and, according to the reports, another man are also under suspicion.
The man drove the grandfather and the boy in a rented car from Pavia to Switzerland, from where they flew to Tel Aviv, the daily
Corriere della Sera
reported.
(dpa / ml)