Road signs in Israel
Road signs in Israel are decided by the Ministry of Transportation in the Division of Transportation Planning, most recently set forth in June 2011.[1]

They generally use the same pattern of colors, shapes, and symbols as set out in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, used also in most countries of Europe and the Middle East.
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, or even just in English as required by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, conveys its meaning through the depiction of a raised hand.
Font
Israeli road sign regulations provide for the following fonts to be used: Tamrurim for Hebrew script, Medina for Arabic script, and Triumvirat (a Helvetica derivative) for Latin script as well as numbers.[2] However, these rules are not consistently followed; some signs use Highway Gothic (used for all road signs in the United States) for the Latin script.
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
Rough road
Sharp right curve
Sharp left curve
Curve right and then left
Curve left and then right
Winding road ahead
Barriers
Barriers
Road narrows ahead
Road narrows from right ahead
Road narrows from left ahead
Barriers
Barriers
Barriers
Intersection ahead
Side road on the right ahead
Side road on the left ahead
T-intersection
Barriers
Staggered crossroads
Staggered crossroads
Roundabout ahead
Traffic signal ahead
Minor road merging from the right
Minor road merging from the left
Merge with major road from the right
Merge with major road from the left
Possible traffic congestion
Traffic congestion ahead
Tram crossing ahead
Railroad crossing ahead
Pedestrian crosswalk
Pedestrians nearby
Bicycle traffic crossing
Stop sign ahead
Dangerous descent
Danger of skidding
Rock slide zone
Rock slide zone
Speed breaker
Two-way traffic
Farm vehicles crossing
Children or School crosswalk
Road works
End road works
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:
- Mandatory signs (e.g. "Turn right only") bear a white symbol on a blue disk.
- 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
Go straight or turn right
Go straight or turn left
Go straight
Turn right
Turn left
Turn right or left
Go straight or make right U-Turn
Go straight or make left U-Turn
Compulsory right U-Turn
Compulsory left U-Turn
May pass on either sign
Pass on the right
Pass on the left
Start of motorway
End of motorway
Minimum speed limit
Road for motor vehicles only
Start of traffic calming area
End of traffic calming area
Traffic recession area
The edge of a traffic recession area
Cycle lane
End of cycle lane
Pedestrian path
Cycle path
Shared pedestrian and cycle path
Segregated pedestrian and cycle path
Toll lane or toll road
End of toll lane or toll road
- Signs giving orders
Give Way
Stop
Stop manual control
Go manual control
Yield to oncoming traffic
Priority over oncoming traffic
Priority road
End of priority road
Closed to all vehicles
No entry
Barriers
Barriers
Cars and Motorbikes prohibition
No trucks weighing over 10 tonnes
Vehicles transporting hazardous materials are prohibited
Cars prohibiton
Motorbikes prohibiton
Tractors and work vehicles prohibition
Animals prohibiton
Bicycles prohibiton
Pedestrians prohibiton
Pedestrians, Bicycles, Work transport, and Animals prohibiton
No vehicles weighing over 6 tonnes
No vehicles higher than 4.6 meters
No vehicles wider than 2.1 meters
Region not allowed Driving lessons
End of region not allowed Driving lessons
Overtaking is prohibited for small vehicles.
End of no overtaking
Overtaking is prohibited for large vehicles.
End of no overtaking
Urban area
End of urban area
Speed limit (50 km/h)
Speed limit (50 km/h)
End of Speed limit (50 km/h)
No right turn ahead
No left turn ahead
No U-turns
No U-turns
Parking prohibiton
Parking and stopping prohibition
End of Parking prohibition
Parking of trucks weighing over 10,000 kg prohibited
End of Parking prohibition of trucks weighing over 10,000 kg
Customs
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 color-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
National Freeway (1 digit)
National Freeway which is also an Inter-City Expressway (1 digit)
National Inter-City Expressway (1 digit)
Inter-City Expressway (2 digits)
National Expressway (2 digit)
Regional roads (3 digits)
Local roads (4 digits)
Freeway sign
Major road sign
Local destination sign
Tourist destination sign
Street sign
Entry to toll
Parking (sign can be two-sided)
Handicapped parking
Pedestrian crossing
Exit sign
One-way traffic
Border sign
No through road
No through road on right
No through road on left
Tunnel
End of tunnel
References
- Traffic Sign Sheet, Ministry of Transportation, July 2012
- https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/policy/guidelines_planning_signs_interurban_roads/he/%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%9C%D7%AA%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%9F_%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%98_%D7%91%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F-%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%94%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_2016.pdf#page-58