Yesterday I drove to the beach at Palmahim before sunset to take photos. It’s not hard to get there but there is a big difference between going on your own and with me as your guide – you’ll hear and see a lot more.

A small highway <4311> takes you there, passing Nahal Soreq, the drop zone, the air force base and Kibbutz Palmahim on the way. Nahal Soreq meanders from just outside Jerusalem, the train line to Jaffa and Tel Aviv follows the same route, to the sea. Many parents who have children who have served in IDF combat units have experienced the thrill of watching their child jump from a large C-130 Hercules airplane overhead and float down onto the sand.

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These enormous planes have always amazed me, the same planes employed in Operation Entebbe, a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission that carried 100 commandos over 2,500 miles to Uganda on July 4, 1976. I might even tell you how our group was hiking in Makhtesh Ramon up on a ridge when a Hercules flew by.

As you pass the base, notice the  Iron Dome missile systems on their platforms.

Entrance to the beach is 18 ₪ per vehicle but you can drive past the entrance and park farther along the road and walk down to the beach from there.

Palmahim is a popular beach when the weather is warmer (though our son went kite surfing). Good location for photos. In the short time that it takes the sun to drop into the Mediterranean sea there are some nice views.