Highway 65 is a major highway in northern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. It connects

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

with the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

. This road is the shortest and simplest way to connect these two major regions. Historically, people traveled on or near this route for thousands of years from the coastal plain to reach the Galilee, and beyond it the Golan, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan (''see''

Via Maris Via Maris, or Way of Horus () was an ancient trade route, dating from the early Bronze Age, linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia – along the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Egypt, Israel, Turkey and S ...

). In the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Wadi Ara Wadi Ara (, ) or Nahal 'Iron (), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab citizens of Israel, Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Triangle (Israel), Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is located northwest of t ...

for this reason. The road passes by many Arab villages and cities but few Jewish habitations in

Nahal Iron Wadi Ara (, ) or Nahal 'Iron (), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is located northwest of the Green Line, in the Haifa District. High ...

. In October 2000, at the beginning of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

, the road was blocked by local Palestinian protesters. For security reasons Highway 70, which runs parallel to the north of Highway 65, has been improved. The northern section of the highway, between Golani and Nahal Amud (nearby Kadarim) is a freeway.

Path of Highway 65 from southwest to northeast

The road begins in the coastal plain near

and

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

. Its western terminus is Highway 2. After

Pardes Hana-Karkur Pardes Hanna-Karkur () is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of . It has been characterized as having a hipster culture. History An Arab village named Karkur had stood at this location by the time the Palestine Exp ...

, the road is colloquially known as "

Wadi Ara Wadi Ara (, ) or Nahal 'Iron (), is a valley and its surrounding area in Israel populated mainly by Arab citizens of Israel, Arab Israelis. The area is also known as the "Triangle (Israel), Northern Triangle". Wadi Ara is located northwest of t ...

road", passing through Iron Valley and

Umm el-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( , ''Umm al-Faḥm''; ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm ...

. Afterward the road intersects Highway 66 at

Megiddo junction The Megiddo Junction () is an intersection of Highways 65 and 66 in northern Israel, at the exit from the mountain pass coming up through Wadi Ara into the Jezreel Valley. It is named for the nearby ruins of the biblical city of Megiddo, als ...

. From this point to

Afula Afula () is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...

the road crosses the southern part of the

Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...

. This section is widely known as "Kvish HaSargel" (in English: "Ruler Road") as its route is as flat and straight as a

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

. It then passes by Afula Illit, and turns directly north until crossing Highway 77 at Golani Interchange. It continues to its northeast terminus at

Nahal Amud Nahal Amud (), also known as the Wadi al-Amud, is a stream in the Upper Galilee region of Israel that flows into the Sea of Galilee. History The source of the stream, Ramat Dalton, is located 800 meters above sea level. Its drainage basin inclu ...

junction, where it meets Highway 85.

Improvements

The long term plans are for the entire highway to be converted to a freeway, including a new bypass section just north of Afula. Given the extremely high cost of the overall effort required (estimated at nearly NIS 3.5 billion, equivalent to almost US$1 billion), this will be implemented in phases, with work on the Afula–Golani section expected to be implemented first as it is the only section of the road which still consists of only two lanes. Construction on this section is expected to begin by 2019.

Path of Highway 65 from southwest to northeast

Improvements

See also