Highway_60_(Israel)

Highway 60 (Israel–Palestine)

Highway 60 (Israel–Palestine)

Road in Israel and the West Bank

Highway 60 or (Hebrew: כביש שישים, Kvish Shishim; Arabic: الطريق السريع ستين at-Tariq as-Sarie Sitiin) is a south–north intercity road in Israel and the Palestinian West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.

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Route and specifics

The Highway in large part follows the same general route as the so-called biblical "Way of the Patriarchs" (Hebrew: דרך האבות, romanized: (Derech HaAvot)), since it also follows the central watershed of the hill country, which figures prominently in the travels of the Biblical patriarchs.[1]

From its junction with Highway 40 in Beersheba to the city's outskirts, Route 60 is a dual carriageway with at-grade intersections. While it continues on to serve as the main north–south artery between Israeli settlements and Palestinian communities such as the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, it is a two-lane, shoulderless road until past Hebron at Gush Etzion Junction, where it regains its lane-separation until short of Bethlehem, that section having recently been widened. Upon entering Jerusalem, its lanes are again mostly separated as it serves as a central artery in the city center. In the northern quarters it becomes a separate grade freeway with multiple interchanges, from where it continues through the central and northern West Bank as a two-lane road, not being divided again until the stretch between Afula and its terminus in downtown Nazareth.[2]

Due to it running through a mainly rural setting, many of the junctions along its route feature hitchhiking posts called trempiadas.

Access, bypass roads

At present, the highway is non-contiguous pending final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The section through Jenin is closed to yellow (Israeli) license plates. The sections north and south of the West Bank and through Jerusalem are closed to green (Palestinian Authority) license plates.[3]

Before the Oslo Accords, Palestinians lived under Israeli authority and could travel freely on the road. After the Palestinian Authority assumed control over various cities, Israel established checkpoints on areas of the route which entered Palestinian jurisdiction. New routes of highway were paved so that Israeli traffic could bypass the Palestinian towns in order to reduce friction. These so-called bypass roads, while a contentious issue in their own right due to the varying levels of limitation on Palestinian access, also served as an improvement to the road which allowed traffic to flow around, rather than through the heart of congested urban areas.

Tunnels Highway

One of the more sophisticated segments – built on lands east of the Green line set in 1967 – is the stretch known as the Tunnels Highway. Designed by a French firm [specify], the route leads from southern Jerusalem to the Jewish settlements area of Gush Etzion, bypasses Bethlehem and then heading to the northwest using a pair of tunnels; the northern tunnel, called the Gilo tunnel because it is adjacent to the Gilo neighborhood/Settlement, is 270 metres long. The second tunnel, called the Refaim tunnel based on the nearby Refaim Valley and passing under Har Gilo and Beit Jala, is 900 m long, making it the longest road tunnel in the West Bank. The tunnels are linked by the West Bank's highest and longest bridge, crossing the Walaja Valley.[citation needed]

In Jerusalem

Within Jerusalem, Highway 60, known by the municipality as the Talpiot–Atarot Axis and often referred to by its official Jerusalem Municipality designation, "Road 1" (not to be confused with National Highway 1), is the central north–south artery running through the city centre. The Jerusalem portion of the road begins at the Tunnels Road (the northern end of the Bethlehem Bypass), passes the edges of Gilo and Beit Safafa, joins the "Hebron Road" (Hebrew: דרך חברון) from Bethlehem and continues northward through Talpiot. This section is divided with multiple lanes and has undergone recent construction to include dedicated bus lanes and infrastructure for its eventual conversion into a line of the Jerusalem Light Rail.

At its junction with David Remez Street, in the Abu Tor neighborhood, Route 60 narrows and descends into the Hinnom Valley, curving around Sultan's Pool directly under Mount Zion. It then ascends as Hativat Yerushalayim Street to intersect with the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.

From there it runs underneath the Jaffa Gate Square, briefly overlaps Jaffa Road and then enters "HaTsanhanim Tunnel" passing underneath Jerusalem's New Gate. It emerges just west of the Damascus Gate intersecting with Street of the Prophets, again becoming a divided street. This section of the road includes tracks for the now completed Jerusalem Light Rail's red line.

Briefly called Heil HaHandassa Boulevard and then Haim Bar-Lev Boulevard, it continues northward passing Meah Shearim, the American Colony, and French Hill, until Meinertzhagen junction, where it becomes a separate grade freeway. As a freeway, it interchanges with Highway 1 at Sha'ar Mizrah. The freeway then bypasses Shuafat with one of the longest and highest bridges in the country, feeding into Beit Hanina and Pisgat Ze'ev with two more interchanges. It continues as an at-grade road intersecting with Neve Yaakov Blvd. and finally exits the city near Kalandia.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Route 60 was a central scene of violence during the al-Aqsa Intifada, which was in part defined by the thousands of shooting attacks on its Israeli traffic, including hundreds of casualties. [citation needed] The Israeli Army, in response, has fortified various sections with anti-sniper walls and had established checkpoints along the route.[citation needed] The Tunnels Highway came under particularly heavy assault during the shooting on Gilo neighborhood since it lies between Gilo and Beit Jala. The concrete barriers employed on other dangerous stretches of road were too heavy to be supported by the bridge, and so a barrier of bulletproof composite armour similar to that employed on Merkava tanks was constructed.[citation needed]

The road was also the site of terrorist attacks in June,[4] August 2010,[5][6] and June 2015.

Junctions and interchanges

Traveling south on Route 60 between Nablus and Jerusalem
Tunnel (below Gilo) and bridge (above Walaja Valley) to Gush Etzion. Part of the Bethlehem bypass.
Highway 60 crossing Street of the Prophets. The Dome of the Rock can be seen in the far right background.
View northward at Asaf Junction (Route 466)
View southward at Ein Yabrud
View southwards approaching Shomron Junction alongside Shavei Shomron (behind wall)
View northward at Iksal Junction
approaching Rafael Eitan Bridge
and Yitzhak Herskovitz Tunnels
under Mount Precipice
Iksal Junction & Rafael Eitan Bridge
viewed from above southward
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See also

References & Notes

  1. [1]
    "The Lev Yehuda project at the heart of the conflict". margolin-bros.com (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  2. [2]
    "Eretz Binyamin: Leave politics behind" Archived 2007-03-19 at the Wayback Machine Ynetnews
  3. [3]
    At the time of its designation Highway 60 was a consecutive highway, running from Beersheba to Nazareth. With the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada an IDF decree forbade Israelis from traveling on the Tel Dotan-Jenin-Jalamah section, effectively splitting Highway 60. Additionally, the section of the highway within the city limits of Jerusalem are forbidden to green Palestinian license plates. Final designation of the highway is dependent on the final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
  4. [4]
    "IDF Statement on Rt. 60 Terror Attack, 31 Aug 2010". Archived from the original on 24 November 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  5. [5]
    On the eve of the summit meeting in Washington to relaunch the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, a shooting attack was carried out targeting an Israeli vehicle southeast of Hebron. Four Israeli civilians were killed. Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility; the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack Archived 2010-09-07 at the Wayback Machine, September 1, 2010, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
  6. [6]
    "4 Israelis shot dead in West Bank," Archived 2017-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Janine Zacharia and Samuel Sockol, September 1, 2010, The Washington Post.
  7. [7]
    "CMinistry of Defense accelerates the establishment of the intelligence complex in the south". "Globes" Business Daily. 2018-05-09. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-03.(in Hebrew)
  8. [8]
    "Crossing Points West Bank and Gaza Strip". Palestinian Shipper's Council. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  9. [9]
    "Coordination of Government Activity in the Territories - Meitar Crossing". Israel Defense Forces. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  10. [10]
    "Coordination of Government Activity in the Territories - Atarot (Kalandia) Crossing". Israel Defense Forces. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  11. [11]
    Chaim Levinson (2011-08-02). "Israel's Supreme Court orders state to dismantle largest West Bank outpost". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  12. [12]
    Joshua 18:23
  13. [13]
    Judges 21:19
  14. [14]
    "Crossing Points West Bank and Gaza Strip – Jalameh Terminal". Palestinian Shipper's Councill. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  15. [15]
    "Coordination of Government Activity in the Territories- Gilboa-Jalame Crossing". Israel Defense Forces. Archived from the original on 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2014-08-22.

Further reading

  • Conover, Ted (2010). "A War You Can Commute To". The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 170–216. ISBN 978-1-4000-4244-9.

31°53′54″N 35°15′55″E
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