The Malakhi Junction, also known as Qastina (Hebrew: קסטינה) for the Palestinian village which once stood there, is a major road junction in Israel, between Highway 40 and 3. It is located on the 37th kilometer of Highway 3.
Like most junctions in Israel, it serves as a major transportation hub and has a trempiada, or hitchhiking stand. Due to its proximity to Kiryat Malakhi, it is also sometimes considered Kiryat Malakhi's central bus station, operated by the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In that capacity however, it has been often criticized, to the point that Ynet uses a photo of the bus stations in Qastina as a stock photo for public transportation critiques. In a March 2007 survey, Ynet gave Qastina a 0/10 rating (the lowest) out of 11 bus station checked nationwide.[1] On March 1, 2008, the Israeli Channel 2 ran a similar survey, ranking Qastina lowest, with 0/3 on its three main criteria.[2]
In addition, the junction is a common stop for Israelis traveling between the north/center of the country (Haifa, Tel Aviv) to the south (Beersheba, Eilat), a fact that helps maintain several fast food and other small stores.[citation needed] The junction has a Better Place battery replacement station.[3]
During the October 2000 protests, Palestinian citizens burned tires and threw rocks at passing buses at the junction.[4]
- ^ Donner, Shlomi (2007-03-09). "A Check on Central Bus Stations - Third World Level" (in Hebrew). Ynet.
- ^ "A Journey to the Past - The State of the Central Bus Stations in Israel (video)" (in Hebrew). 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2008-03-01. [dead link]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
globes-betterplacewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "October 2000 events timeline" (in Hebrew). Israel Court Protocols. Archived from the original on 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-04-15.