Road signs in Israel

Language

Signs employ three scripts – Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin – and are written in Hebrew and Arabic, the two official languages of the country, and in English.

The stop sign, however, instead of displaying words in three languages, conveys its meaning through the depiction of a raised hand.

Signs giving warnings

Signs warning of hazardous conditions or dangerous situations (e.g. "Intersection" or "Steep incline ahead" bear a black-on-white symbol inside a red-bordered triangle (point uppermost).

Signs giving warnings

Signs giving orders

With the exception of the special shapes used for "Stop" and "Yield" signs (respectively, an octagon and a downward-pointing triangle), signs giving orders are circular and are of two kinds:

Prohibitory signs (e.g. "No left turn") take the form of a black-on-white symbol inside a red-bordered circle, sometimes with the addition of a red slash through the symbol.

Mandatory signs (e.g. "Turn right only") bear a white symbol on a blue disk.

Signs giving orders

Signs giving information

Signs giving information are generally rectangular (sometimes pointed at one end in the case of direction signage).

Highways in Israel are classified as:

National (single-digit number)

Inter-city (two digits)

Regional (three digits)

Local (four digits)

Route-marker signs are also colour-coded:

Freeways (Blue)

Expressways (Red)

Regional routes (green)

Local roads (black, formerly brown)

Most directional signs to towns and cities are:

white-on-blue (freeways)

white-on-green (other main roads)

black-on-white (local destinations)

white-on-brown (tourist destinations: landmarks, historical sites, nature reserves, etc.).

The sign for permitted parking features a white-on-blue "P" for "parking" enclosed by the Hebrew letter Het ("ח") for "hanaya" (Hebrew: חניה‎‎), which also means "parking").

The sign informing users that they are on a priority road is a white-edged yellow "diamond" (i.e. a square turned through 45°).

Information signs