Horvat 'Eqed

Canada Park (Hebrew: פארק קנדה, Arabic: حديقة كندا, also Ayalon Park,) is an Israeli national park stretching over 7,000 dunams (7km2), and extending from No man's land into the West Bank. The park is located north of Highway 1 (Tel Aviv-Jerusalem), and is situated near the Ayalon Valley, between the Latrun Interchange and Sha'ar HaGai. The park is full with natural attractions, including man-made forests, Mediterranean woodlands home to many local flowers, and the remains of ancient orchards. The park also has a number of historical interest, including a Hasmonean Jewish fort, burial caves and ritual baths of the Second Temple period and the Bar Kokhba revolt, a Crusader fort, a Roman bathhouse that was turned into a maqam, the remnants of three former Palestinian Arab towns, and various military memorials. There are also recreation areas, springs, and panoramic several hilltop views.Canada Park is considered a popular tourist destination for Israelis, drawing some 300,000 visitors annually.

Dayr Ayyub (Arabic: دير أيوب) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on March 6, 1948 by the Givati and Sheva' brigades of Operation Nachshon. It was located 17.5 km southeast of Ramla, situated close to Bab al-Wad. On attack, the village was defended by the Jordanian Army but was mostly destroyed with the exception of a few houses and the village cemetery.

The Ayalon Valley (Hebrew: אַיָּלוֹן‎ or איילון‎, ʾAyyālōn) is a valley in the lowland of the Shephelah in Israel. The Ayalon Valley has been an important route connecting the coastal plain and Jerusalem for generations. Due to its location, several battles were fought in its vicinity. The Hebrew Bible gives the valley its name from Ayalon, a city that the Tribe of Dan possessed before their migration to the north. In the modern period, ancient Ayalon was identified with the former village of Yalo at the base of the Bethoron pass, which preserved the ancient, biblical name.Today, the Ayalon Valley is home to several kibbutzim and moshavim, including Sha'alvim, Mishmar Ayalon, Nahshon, and Kfar Bin Nun. The valley is also home to Canada Park, a national park, the Yad La-Shiryon (Armored Corps Museum), Mini Israel, the Latrun Monastery and Emmaus Nicopolis, an archeological site commonly identified with Emmaus of the New Testament.

The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway (also higher-speed railway to Jerusalem, Plan A1, and Railway 29) is a railway line in Israel connecting the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The line serves as the main rail link between the two cities, complementing the old Jaffa–Jerusalem railway. As such, the railway is often referred to in Israel as the high-speed railway to Jerusalem to distinguish it from the older, longer and slower line. In spite of that name, the line is not high-speed under the definition used by the International Union of Railways: both its design speed of 200 km/h (125 mph) and its current operational speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) are below the 250 km/h (155 mph) threshold used by the UIC to define high-speed railways, and it is traversed by IR's regular rolling stock instead of the UIC requirement for specially-designed high-speed trains.The newly constructed railway section to Jerusalem branches off from the Tel Aviv–Lod railway at the Ganot Interchange southeast of Tel Aviv and spans about 56 km (35 mi) of electrified double track. It cost approximately NIS 7 billion (about US$2 billion in 2008 dollars) – due to the extensive bridging and tunneling required along the mountainous route. Besides the construction of the new railway section, the existing railway from Herzliya to Ganot Interchange underwent electrification. The railway's design speed is 160 km/h (99 mph) with a projected non-stop travel time of approximately 28 minutes from Tel Aviv HaHagana railway station to Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station. As of 2019, the scheduled travel time between Ben Gurion Airport railway station and Jerusalem is 22–26 minutes, and between Tel Aviv HaHagana and Jerusalem 32–34 minutes (including the stop at Ben Gurion Airport). This compared with about 75 minutes each way using the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway from Tel Aviv HaHagana to southern Jerusalem's Malha station, which unlike Jerusalem–Navon, is located relatively far from the city center. Construction of the railway began in 2001. It was the first heavy rail line in Israel to be electrified and was originally planned to open in 2008, but various objections, bureaucratic delays and engineering difficulties caused planning and construction to span over two decades, with the line opening for service in stages. The first section, between the Ganot interchange on Highway 1 and Ben Gurion Airport opened in October 2004 and made train travel possible between Tel Aviv and the airport. Another section completed in 2007 is used by trains operating between central Israel and Modi'in. The final section opened on 25 September 2018 and enabled service between Jerusalem–Navon and Ben Gurion Airport. As electrification works progressed northwards from the airport through Tel Aviv to Herzliya, service to and from Jerusalem was extended to include additional stations, beginning with Tel Aviv HaHagana on 21 December 2019, Tel Aviv HaShalom and Savidor Central on 30 June 2020, and Tel Aviv University and Herzliya on 21 September 2020. With the completion of electrification works to Binyamina in February 2023, nighttime-only service was extended from Hertzliya to Netanya, Hadera West And Binyamina. A railway spur which opened on 31 March 2022 also enables direct service on the line between Jerusalem and Modi'in. Eventually, trains from Jerusalem are expected to continue all the way to northern Israel as future phases of Israel Railways' electrification project are carried out along the Coastal Railway, with the long-term plan of trains originating from Jerusalem terminating at Karmiel by the mid 2020s.

Yalo (Arabic: يالو, also transliterated Yalu) was a Palestinian Arab village located 13 kilometres southeast of Ramla. Identified by Edward Robinson as the ancient Canaanite and Israelite city of Aijalon. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of a Crusader castle, Castrum Arnaldi. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jordan annexed the West Bank, including the village of Yalo. Yalo's population increased dramatically owing to an influx of Palestinian refugees from neighbouring towns and villages depopulated during the war. During the 1967 Six Day War, Yalo's inhabitants were expelled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the village was destroyed. Yalo and the area surrounding Latrun were annexed from Jordan by Israel. Subsequently, with donations from Canadian benefactors, the Jewish National Fund built a recreational space, Canada Park, which contains the former sites of Yalo and two other neighbouring villages, Dayr Ayyub and Imwas.

Imwas or Emmaus (Arabic: عِمواس), known in classical times as Nicopolis (Greek: Νικόπολις, lit. 'City of Victory'), was a Palestinian Arab village located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of the city of Ramla and 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Jerusalem in the Latrun salient of the West Bank. It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical Emmaus.After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Imwas fell under Jordanian rule. Its population at the time was predominantly Arab Muslim, though there was an Arab Christian minority. Captured by the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of Yalo and Bayt Nuba, the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin. Today the area of the former village lies within Canada Park, which was established by the Jewish National Fund in 1973.

Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, Emmaous; Latin: Emmaus; Arabic: عمواس, ʻImwas) is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus.Although its geographical identification is not certain, several locations have been suggested throughout history, chiefly Imwas and Al-Qubeiba, both in the West Bank. It is known only that it was connected by a road to Jerusalem; the distance given by Luke varies in different manuscripts and the figure given has been made even more ambiguous by interpretations.

The Battle of Emmaus took place around September 165 BC during the Maccabean Revolt between Judean rebels, led by Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee), and an expedition of Seleucid Empire forces under generals Gorgias, Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor near Emmaus. The battle was won by the Maccabee rebels, who marched by night and surprised the Seleucid camp while many soldiers were absent. The victorious Maccabees looted the Greek camp for valuables and likely weapons to help further their cause.

Latrun Interchange is a key road interchange of Israel, located in the Latrun Salient in the Israeli occupied West Bank. It lies on the route between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 3. It is a slightly modified diamond interchange. The high speed ramps of westbound Highway 1 connect with Highway 3 at a traffic-light controlled junction. The high speed ramps of eastbound Highway 1 connect with Highway 3 at two offset, uncontrolled junctions. The interchange lies east of the Green Line within the Latrun Salient, technically part of the West Bank.

Latrun (Hebrew: לטרון, Latrun; Arabic: اللطرون, al-Latrun) is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the site of fierce fighting during the 1948 war. During the period of 1949–1967, it was occupied by Jordan at the edge of a no man's land between the armistice lines. In the 1967 war, it was occupied by Israel. The hilltop includes the Latrun Abbey, Mini Israel (a park with scale models of historic buildings around Israel), The International Center for the Study of Bird Migration (ICSBM), the Yad La-Shiryon memorial to armored corps soldiers killed in action, and military tank museum. Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace) is a joint Jewish-Arab community on a hilltop south of Latrun. Canada Park is nearby to the east.

The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name from the monastery close to the junction of two major highways: Jerusalem to Jaffa/Tel Aviv and Gaza to Ramallah. During the British Mandate it became a Palestine Police base with a Tegart fort. The United Nations Resolution 181 placed this area within the proposed Arab state. In May 1948, it was under the control of the Arab Legion. It commanded the only road linking the Yishuv-controlled area of Jerusalem to Israel, giving Latrun strategic importance in the battle for Jerusalem. Despite assaulting Latrun on five separate occasions, Israel was ultimately unable to capture Latrun and it remained under Jordanian control until the Six-Day War. The battles were such a decisive Jordanian victory that the Israelis decided to construct a bypass surrounding Latrun so as to allow vehicular movement between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, thus avoiding the main road. Regardless, during the Battle for Jerusalem, the Jewish population of Jerusalem could still be supplied by a new road, named the "Burma Road", that bypassed Latrun and was suitable for convoys. The Battle of Latrun left its imprint on the Israeli collective imagination, though in two different versions, and constitutes part of the "founding myth" of the Jewish State. The attacks cost the lives of 168 Israeli soldiers, but some accounts inflated this number to as many as 2,000. The combat at Latrun also carries a symbolic significance because of the participation of Holocaust survivors. Today, the battleground site has an Israeli military museum dedicated to the Israeli Armored Corps and a memorial to the 1947–1949 Palestine war.

Bayt Nuba (Arabic: بيت نوبا) was a Palestinian Arab village, located halfway between Jerusalem and al-Ramla.Historically identified with the biblical city of Nob mentioned in the Book of Samuel, that association has been eschewed in modern times. The village is mentioned in extrabiblical sources including the writings of 5th-century Roman geographers, 12th-century Crusaders and a Jewish traveller, a 13th-century Syrian geographer, a 15th-century Arab historian, and Western travellers in the 19th century. In the Crusader period, Kurds settled in Bayt Nuba. Other residents of the village had origins in Transjordan. Depopulated by Israeli forces during the 1967 war, it was subsequently leveled by military engineers using controlled explosions, and the Israeli settlement of Mevo Horon was established on its lands in 1970.