The five-year-old Israeli boy, who was the only survivor of the cable car disaster in northern Italy that killed 14 people, is reportedly at the center of a bitter custody battle between his two aunts – one of whom accused the other of kidnapping the child.
Eitan Biran made it out alive on May 24th when the cable car opened on May 24th.
The orphaned boy, who was discharged from a Turin hospital in June, lives with his aunt Aya Biran-Nirko, the Italian sister of Eitan’s late father Amit Biran, 30, the Times of Israel reported.
Gali Peleg, the sister of Eitan’s late mother Tal Peleg-Biran, 26, has accused Biran-Nirko of kidnapping the boy and preventing him from having a normal childhood, the news agency said.
“He was kidnapped by relatives who don’t know him at all. [Biran-Nirko] was not close to him in any way, ”Peleg said at a press conference at which she was accompanied by her husband Ron Peri and a lawyer.
She said short visits to Eitan’s hired by an Italian court also made him feel like they didn’t want him.
14 people died when a cable car crashed in northern Italy on Dec.BBC
“In a few years he will look back and see where he grew up and who his parents were and it is important to me that he sees that we have always been there for him,” said Peleg. “He’s already lost a family and doesn’t have to lose another.”
Although Eitan grew up in Italy, Peri claimed his Israeli parents wanted him to receive a Jewish education in Israel.
He said they had only recently learned of Biran-Nirko’s existence – and suggested that money may have been a motivating factor in her “appearing out of nowhere”.
Eitan Biran made it out alive when the cable car fell six meters into a mountain – but his parents, two-year-old brother, and great-grandparents were all killed.Facebook
But the family’s neighbors in Italy said Eitan’s parents decided to take him to a Catholic school run by nuns.
“People who live far from their own country think of returning from time to time, but their intention was to stay here in Pavia,” Piero Monni told La Repubblica, the London Times reported.
Meanwhile, Biran-Nirko, a doctor and mother of two, said she grew up in Israel and moved to Italy to study medicine – and stayed there to work as a prison doctor and addiction specialist, the Times of Israel reported.
Eitan Biran lives with his aunt Aya Biran-Nirko, the sister of Eitan’s late father Amit Biran, who lives in Italy.Facebook
Biran-Nirko lawyers, who live near Pavia in northern Italy, said they were shocked by Peleg’s “surreal” comments, the London Times reported.
“We sincerely cannot understand the reason for such bitterness and falsehood,” they said, adding that the door would be open to family members who want to contribute to the child’s best interests.
“Later, when he’s older, he’ll be able to make his own decisions,” the lawyers said, according to the UK news agency.
Gali Peleg, the sister of Eitan Biran’s late mother Tal Peleg-Biran, has accused Aya Biran-Nirko of kidnapping the boy and preventing him from having a normal childhood.Facebook
Still, Peri insisted that Eitan, whose father had moved to Italy to study medicine, be “held hostage”.
In June, Marcella Severino, the mayor of Stresa, where the cable car was located, told an Italian news agency that Biran-Nirko was “a constant presence in the child’s life – he is in good hands”. Times of Israel.
Ariel Di Porto, the chief rabbi of Turin, told La Repubblica last week that Eitan was still recovering from his injuries.
Eitan Biran reportedly suffered post-traumatic amnesia following the tragic accident.Italian police via AP
In addition to his parents, Eitan lost his two-year-old brother Tom and great-grandparents Yitzhak and Barbara Cohen, 81 and 71 respectively.
The boy, who reportedly suffered from post-traumatic amnesia, was saved by his father’s hug, a hospital spokesman told Israeli media.
Italian authorities arrested three men – Luigi Nerini, 56, Gabriele Tadini, 63 and Enrico Perocchio, 51, who were linked to Ferrovie Mottarone, the operator of the cable car, and said the emergency brakes had been disabled.
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