The citizenship proposal for the two boys from Cailati middle school in Crema was approved at yesterday’s cabinet meeting.
El Hamami’s mother said the citizenship would be “a value for the future”.
Both boys were born in Italy, but under Italian law are unable to apply for citizenship until they turn 18.
Sherata and El Hamami were named “heroes” when they took quick action to avert further violence after Senegalese-born Italian bus driver Ousseynou Sy hijacked and torched their school bus carrying 51 people near Milan.
Egyptian Sherata hid his phone from the hijacker and called police to rescue the kids before the vehicle was torched.
Tunisian El Hamami called the police after Sherata.
Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini changed his mind after initially opposing the proposal to award the kids Italian citizenship for their efforts.
He met with Sherata and El Hamimi at the Interior Ministry in Rome, saying “I believe that young people have made outstanding services to our country”.
The case prompted Italy's centre-left opposition to again call for an ius soli law (law of the soil), which grants citizenship to kids born in Italy much earlier.
But Salvini rejected all talk of an ius soli law, saying “I have had the disgusting sensation that the Crema kids were used by some people to wage a political battle”.
