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 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 states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

in 1967. Its access is restricted to Israeli army 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 deri ...

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 ov ...

, where it splits north from Highway 99. 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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

(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 th ...

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 Je ...

'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 distri ...

. 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