Kafr Laqif, like all of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the 1596 tax registers it was part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Bani Sa'b, itself part of the larger Sanjak of Nablus. It had a population of 15 households, all Muslims. The inhabitants paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a fixed tax for people of Nablus area; a total of 10,740 akçe. 37.5% of the revenue went to a Muslim charitable endowment.[5]
In 1838, Robinson noted Kefr Lakif as a Muslim village in the Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.[6]
In 1870/71 (AH 1288), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b.[7]
In the 1945 statistics the population of Kafr Laqif was 210 Muslims,[11] while the total land area was 2,854 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[12] Of this, 477 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 840 for cereals,[13] while 19 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[14]
After the 1995 accords, 28.2% of village land is classified as Area B land, while the remaining 71.8% is classified as Area C land. The Israelis have expropriated land in Kafr Laqif for its settlements, most notably Karne Shomron and its environs. In addition, according to the plans, (as of 2007) the Israeli West Bank barrier will isolate 657 dunums (22.8% of the village's total area) on the western Israeli side of the wall.[16]
