Route 90, stretching 478 kilometers from Metula to Eilat, is the only axis that traverses the entire length of Israel, connecting three climate zones and the borders of Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. Only about 250,000 Jews and Palestinians live along its path. It is an area that serves, in effect, as the country's "backyard"—far from the populated center between Hadera and Gadera. This is a place inhabited by "seven mandates" of Israelis who chose, or were forced, to build their homes on the geographical and social margins of Israel.