Heftisba CEO Boaz Yona said on Tuesday that he feared for his life and that of his family should he return to Israel .Yona made the statement in response to a question put to him by an Italian judge from the
Venice appeals court who held a 30-minute session on Yona's continued imprisonment.
"The judge will decide whether to keep Boaz Yona in custody or find an alternative within several days," said Yair Golan, Yona's attorney in Israel.
The hearing was held at the Venice detention center, with a translator explaining the proceedings to Yona in English.
Golan said that Yona's possible extradition was not discussed during the hearing, which focused solely on his current detainment in Italy.
Yona, who fled Israel after his construction company went bankrupt, was arrested by Italian police after an international warrant was issued for his arrest.
Yona's attorney has said that it was unlikely that his client would fight the extradition process.
Meanwhile Yona has found himself further entangled back home as the residents of the Palestinian village
of Bilin threatened to file a lawsuit against Yona.
The residents claim that a new neighborhood built by Heftsiba as part of the Modiin Illit settlement – Matityahu Mizrach – was constructed on lands belonging to the village.