Route 999 is an east–west regional route in the northern
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
, which
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
captured from
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in 1967. Its access is restricted to
Israeli army
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...
vehicles for almost its entire length. It begins from Si'on (Hebrew: שיאון, pronounced "see-OWN") adjacent to the community
Snir
Snir ( he, שְׂנִיר) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Hula Valley near Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of .
Etymology
The name of the kibbutz is deriv ...
and the village
Ghajar
Ghajar ( ar, غجر, he, ע'ג'ר or ) is an Alawite-Arab village on the Hasbani River, on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of Syria's Golan Heights. In , it had a population of .
History
Early history
Control ove ...
, where it splits north from
Highway 99
International
* European route E99
Australia
* Springbrook Road, Queensland
Canada
* British Columbia Highway 99
* Ontario Highway 99 (former)
* Saskatchewan Highway 99
China
* G99 Expressway
India
* National Highway 99 (India)
...
. About 2 km after this junction stands an IDF checkpoint. After the checkpoint, the road moves in a northeast direction and climbs steeply on
Shebaa farms
The Shebaa Farms, also spelled Sheba'a Farms ( ar, مزارع شبعا, '; he, חוות שבעא, ''Havot Sheba‘a'' or הר דוב, ''Har Dov''), are a small strip of land at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-oc ...
in parallel with the international border between Golan Heights and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
(the
Blue Line). The road passes near the Shebaa farms while on its steep course in the
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the ...
nature reserve. For the entire length of the road, IDF installations are standing, and it ends its length of 29 km with another IDF checkpoint near the lower cable car of Mount Hermon, where it meets
Highway 98
The following highways are numbered 98:
International
* European route E98
China
* G98 Hainan Ring Expressway, G98 Expressway
India
* National Highway 98 (India)
Israel
*Highway 98 (Israel)
Korea, South
*Gukjido 98
New Zealand
* New Zeal ...
.
Next to the road is
Mount HaBetarim, on which a place is marked as the location where
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
's
Brit Bein HaBetarim occurred. The road offers views through all of
southern Lebanon
Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...
.
Before the withdrawal of IDF troops from the security zone in southern Lebanon in 2000, civilian transport on Route 999 in coordination with the IDF was permitted. However, after the withdrawal, the road served only for secure military traffic.
Junctions (West to East)
References
See also
*
List of highways in Israel
This is a list of Israeli highways. Besides highways in Israel proper, it includes highways in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, because the Israeli administration maintains them in these areas.
There are 48 designated Israeli highways. Most of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:999
Roads in Israel
Roads in Israeli-occupied territories