Highway 50 (Israel–Palestine)

Highway 50 runs approximately 16 kilometers from near Ramot in northern Jerusalem, where it continues from Route 443, to Gilo in the south.[1] At its southern end, the route connects with Route 60 and the Tunnels Highway toward Gush Etzion.[1] The expressway is a principal north–south traffic artery through Jerusalem, linking northern and southern parts of the city without requiring traffic to follow its older central streets.[1][3]

The road has ten bridges and two tunnels.[1] A 2017 description of the completed route gave a normal-traffic journey time of about 12 minutes from one end to the other, without traffic lights.[6] When the southern section opened in April 2016, however, the connection to the Tunnels Highway still had traffic lights, pending construction of an interchange.[1] The Rosmarin Interchange in Gilo was subsequently identified as the project that would complete the highway’s connection to Route 60 and the Tunnels Highway.[6]

Jerusalem’s post-1967 transport planning sought alternatives to existing thoroughfares, especially Jaffa Road, which were inadequate for both urban and interurban traffic.[3] Broad new routes were intended to allow vehicles to cross the municipal area toward destinations beyond it—for example, “from Bethlehem directly to Ramallah”—without adding to congestion on the main arteries.[3] Roads between the formerly separated parts of Jerusalem were joined and opened as part of the city’s post-1967 transport expansion.[3]

The city’s hilly terrain and protected historic sites made road construction expensive, requiring extensive earth-moving, demolitions, and long tunnels.[3] Begin Boulevard became the main north–south artery, with a tunnel beneath the western entrance to the city and connections to the access-road system associated with Route 443.[3] Other projects included tunnels toward the Etzion Bloc, a Mount Scopus tunnel toward Ma’aleh Adumim, and a bridge road connecting Pisgat Ze’ev and Neveh Ya’acov with the French Hill junction.[3] In 2006, Route 9 was under construction in Emek ha-Arazim to connect the Motza and Ramot junctions with Begin Boulevard near Mount Hotzvim.[3]

The Begin Highway opened to traffic in 1998.[7] Its first section linked Ramot with Malha through a tunnel beneath Jerusalem’s western entrance.[6] During planning, a burial cave was discovered in the path of a proposed lane; following pressure from Knesset member Meir Porush of Agudat Yisrael, the cave was preserved rather than the lane.[7] In 2010, widening proceeded on the opposite side through excavation of the Givat Ram slope, at a reported cost of NIS 2 million, instead of relocating the cave.[7] A 2022 account stated that the cave’s large stone remained in the middle of the road.[7]

A separate element of the regional network was Highway 22, described in a 2004 transport study as continuing from the Begin North freeway toward Hizma and Jericho.[8] At that time, Highway 22 was expected to take priority and temporarily replace Highway 45, which had been truncated by the separation barrier.[8]

The southern extension appeared in a master plan dating to the late 1960s and had officially been in development since 1990.[9] Its route was originally intended to follow Beit Safafa’s southern edge, but the neighborhood’s growth placed the planned alignment through its center.[9] The route was the subject of neighborhood protests by March 2013.[10]

The project included a 1.8-kilometer connection through Beit Safafa between the Begin Highway and the Tunnel Road leading toward Gush Etzion.[4] It was intended to ease traffic to and from Gilo and improve access to Jerusalem for residents of the Etzion Bloc settlements in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[9] The state presented the extension as a means of improving travel within Jerusalem and producing economic benefits.[4]

Construction of Begin South from Malha to Gilo took six years and cost NIS 1.5 billion.[6] The southern section linking Gilo with the Gush Etzion tunnels highway opened on April 20, 2016.[1] It included a 180-meter tunnel beneath Beit Safafa, while the junction with the Tunnels Highway initially retained traffic lights.[1] In September 2017, the Rosmarin Interchange was presented as the final connection needed to complete the highway.[6]

In October 2020, Jerusalem’s Local Planning and Building Committee approved a proposal to cover a 1.6-kilometer stretch of Begin Boulevard between the Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus and Beit Hakerem.[2] The proposal envisaged a park, walking and cycling routes, housing, sheltered housing, hotel rooms, commercial and office space, and public buildings.[2] Its estimated cost was NIS 1.2 billion, and it was promoted by the Israel Land Authority, Jerusalem Municipality, and Jerusalem Development Authority.[2]

The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved the highway-cover plan in July 2025.[5] The approved area comprised 215 dunams along a 1,600-meter stretch between the Beyt Interchange and Wolfson Bridge.[5] It envisaged approximately 2,000 housing units, 250 assisted-living units, 300 hotel rooms, 30,000 square meters of office and commercial space, and 75,000 square meters for public use.[5]

Planned buildings ranged from six to fifteen floors, with towers reaching as high as 45 floors.[5] An agreement between Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Land Authority provided for a dedicated administration to implement the project.[5] The project was described at approval as Israel’s first road-roofing scheme on this scale.[5]

Beit Safafa residents opposed the southern extension because it passed through the middle of their neighborhood.[4] The neighborhood had been divided under the 1949 armistice arrangements, with its northern part inside Israel, and its two parts were reunited after the 1967 war.[11] Major roads, including Route 50, subsequently divided it into four parts.[11] On March 1, 2013, approximately 300 residents demonstrated against the construction and attempted to block nearby Dov Yosef Road; police dispersed them and arrested one person.[10]

Residents and community advocates argued that the highway would divide the neighborhood, damage quality of life, and primarily benefit traffic to Gush Etzion rather than local residents.[9] Their objections included fears of pollution and restrictions on nearby building, while a construction-site slogan read, “Don’t run over Beit Safafa.”[12][9] Advocates alleged that residents lacked an opportunity to object to a detailed plan; the municipality rejected that claim, citing opportunities for participation during the plan’s 23-year zoning process and emphasizing the project’s citywide economic value.[9]

In January 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the state’s right to build the road but canceled certain access roads and required an updated master plan before work proceeded.[4] The state had committed to providing alternatives before removing streets or walkways, so that no part of the neighborhood would be cut off during construction.[4] Residents sought additional overpasses and longer protective walls where the highway would pass within three meters or less of some homes; the state agreed to 180 meters of walls and some overpasses but argued that further demands were physically impracticable and could cost more than NIS 100 million.[4]

The highway-cover project also attracted objections, including opposition to high-rise construction and its possible effects on Beit Hakerem.[2] By December 2024, 685 objections had been filed, mostly by residents.[13] Institutional objections concerned contaminated land near the Beit Hakerem industrial and commercial zone, potential harm to the Israel Geological Institute’s activities, and effects on the Hebrew University technology park; Jerusalem Municipality also submitted an objection despite being a project developer.[13]