Route 443 (Israel–Palestine)

Route 443 (Hebrew: כביש 443, מעלה בית חורון) is also known as Ma'ale Beit Horon (Bethoron Ascent), following the ancient east-west trade route connecting the Via Maris and the Way of the Patriarchs. It is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv and Gush Dan with Jerusalem via Modi'in. While technically listed as a regional road, it is, for the most part, a divided, four-lane highway which utilizes some grade separation and interchanges, as well as major at-grade intersections, and thus is not classified as a motorway, even though there is a short motorway section on its western end, connecting it to westbound Highway 1.

Route 443
כביש 443
Ascent of Bethoron Hebrew: מעלה בית חורון, romanized: Ma'ale Beit Horon
Eastward ascent of Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem approaching Beit Ur al-Fauqa
Route information
Length	28.3 km (17.6 mi)
Major junctions
West end	Ginaton Junction
Major intersections	Ben Shemen Interchange Shilat Junction Beit Horon Interchange
East end	Giv'at Ze'ev Junction
Location
Country	Israel
Major cities	Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Giv'at Ze'ev
Highway system
Roads in Israel Highways
← Route 441 → Route 444

Route

Route 443 begins as a local street near downtown Lod. Leaving Lod to the east, it becomes a divided highway, crossing Highway 1 and Highway 6 at the Ben Shemen Interchange, and continuing to Shilat junction, which serves as the entrance for the Modi'in area. It then continues through the West Bank in the Matte Binyamin Regional Council, near Ramallah. Upon passing Givat Ze'ev Junction, its official designation becomes Highway 45 which continues directly to Jerusalem's Highway 50 (Begin Boulevard). A spur, Route 436, also links it with Jerusalem through Giv'at Ze'ev and the Ramot neighbourhood.

The road in antiquity

See also: Bethoron

The road was used during many battles in antiquity due to its unique geography. It is mentioned in several ancient writings.

• In Joshua (Joshua 10:10), it is the location of a battle during the conquest of the Land of Canaan.
• In 1 Samuel (1 Samuel 13:18), the road is used during a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines.
• It is also mentioned in 1 Maccabees (1 Maccabees 3:13–26) describing the Battle of Beth Horon between the Macabees and the Seleucid Empire.
• Later, it is the location of a battle with the Romans as described by Josephus in Wars of the Jews (Bk II, Ch 19, paragraphs 2 & 8).

As opposed to the modern Highway 1, which twists and turns, rises and falls between mountains and valleys on its way to Jerusalem through the Judean hills, the central portion of Highway 443 runs along a ridge line and maintains a relatively stable grade.

Use by Palestinian traffic

Westbound Maccabim Security Checkpoint approaching Modi'in

Route 443 near Giv'at Ze'ev Junction, with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire forming a section of the Israeli West Bank barrier

The route crosses into the West Bank just north of Maccabim and continues until the junction just north of Givat Ze'ev; Palestinian traffic is permitted to use the road between these two points.

Several access roads connecting Palestinian villages with this section of Route 443 were closed in September 2000 due to the outbreak of the Second Intifada.^[1] Frequent fire bomb attacks and fatal shootings on Israeli traffic saw the erection of anti-sniper barricades on parts of the highway adjacent to Palestinian-populated areas.^[2][3][4][5]

In March 2008, following a challenge by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Israel's Supreme Court permitted for six more months the right of the IDF to limit Palestinian traffic in this section, deeming the restrictions necessary to prevent attacks.^[6][7] On December 29, 2009 Israel's High Court of Justice upheld the ACRI's petition against an IDF order barring Palestinian traffic.^[8] The ruling became effective May 28, 2010, and unrestricted Palestinian traffic was again permitted.^[9]

Junctions and Interchanges (West to East)

District[10]	Location[11]	km	mi	Name	Destinations	Notes
Central	Lod	0	0.0	צומת גינתון (Ginaton Junction)	Highway 40
	Ben Shemen	0.8	0.50	צומת בן שמן (Ben Shemen Junction)	Derech HaZayit
	Ginaton	1	0.62		Derech HaRimon
	Ben Shemen Youth Village	1.6	0.99	כפר הנוער בן שמן (Ben Shemen Youth Village)	Access Road
	Ben Shemen	3	1.9	מחלף בן שמן (Ben Shemen Interchange)	Highway 1 Highway 6 Route 444
	Ben Shemen Forest	3.3	2.1	צומת מודיעים (Modi'im Junction)	Route 444
		3.4	2.1	צומת גמזו (Gimzo Junction)	Road 4314
	Neot Kedumim	5	3.1	צומת נאות קדומים (Neot Kedumim Junction)	Access road (Westbound only)
		6	3.7	צומת קדומים דרום (South Kedumim Junction)	Access road to Neot Kedumim (Eastbound only)
	Mevo Modi'im				Entrance road to Mevo Modi'im (Westbound only)
		8.7	5.4	צומת מבוא מודיעים (Mevo Modi'im Junction)	Entrance road (Eastbound only)
	Modi'in	10.2	6.3	צומת מכבים (Maccabim Junction)	Road 4466 (Westbound only)
		11	6.8	צומת מודיעין מערב (West Modi'in Junction)	Yehuda Hamaccabi St.
	Shilat	12.8	8.0	צומת שילת (Shilat Junction)	Route 446
	Modi'in	13	8.1	צומת מודיעין מזרח (East Modi'in Junction)	HaHashmonayim Avenue
		14.3	8.9	צומת מכבים-רעות (Maccabim-Re'ut Junction)	Derech Yair Parag
Green Line
Judea and Samaria	Saffa	16	9.9	צומת ספא (Saffa Junction)	Open to Palestinians only
Maccabim Security Checkpoint NO westbound through-traffic for green (Palestinian Authority) license plates
Judea and Samaria	Beit Sira	16.1	10.0	צומת בית חורון (Saffa Junction)	Open to Palestinians only
	Beit Ur al-Tahta Kharbatha al-Misbah Beit Liqya	19.8	12.3	מחלף עור א-תחתא (Ur Al-Tahta Interchange)	Road 4430
	Beit Ur al-Fauqa	22.3	13.9	צומת מעלה בית חורון (Ma'ale Beit Horon Junction)	Road 4437
	Beit Horon At-Tira	23.4	14.5	מחלף בית חורון (Beit Horon Interchange)	Road 4432
Ofer Security Checkpoint NO eastbound through-traffic for green (Palestinian Authority) license plates
Judea and Samaria	Givat Ze'ev	28.3	17.6	צומת גבעת זאב (Givat Ze'ev Junction)	Highway 45 Route 436
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Akiva Eldar (September 26, 2006). "The law as roadkill on Highway 443". Haaretz.
2. Yaakov Katz (2007-04-17). "4 Israelis wounded in drive-by shooting". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
3. Israeli driver killed in ambush near Givat Ze'ev Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
4. Couple shot dead in ambush, children lightly hurt Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
5. Two murdered in terror attacks Archived 2007-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
6. Dan Izenberg (March 4, 2008). "Barring Palestinians from Highway 443 prevents attacks on Israel, court hints". The Jerusalem Post.
7. Ethan Bronner (2008-03-28). "A road becomes a dividing line in the West Bank". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
8. "Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)Route 443: Fact Sheet and Timeline |". law.acri.org.il. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
9. Sherwood, Harriet (2010-05-27). "Israelis and Palestinians share route 443 again amid suspicion and fear". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
10. Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "מחוזות משרד הפנים" [Ministry of Interior districts] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
11. Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "גבולות ישובים" [Locality borders] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.

31°53′54″N 35°02′17″E