It is situated along a mountain ridge line with four peaks and is built upon the second highest point in the West Bank at 810 meters above sea level.

It is bordered by Silwad to the east, 'Abwein to the north, Burham, 'Ajjul and Umm Safa to the west, and Bir Zeit to the south.

It had a population of 55 Muslim households who paid a fixed tax rate of 33.3% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olives, vineyards or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 4,300 Akçe.

[15][16] In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Attara as a large village, seemingly ancient, in a conspicuous position on a hill, with olives round it.

[28] In 2002, 95-year-old Atara resident Fatima Hassan became the oldest Palestinian fatality in the Second Intifada when the taxi she was in was shot at by Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli military source said soldiers fired at the taxi after it ignored orders to halt on a prohibited road.

[4] The historic maqam of Sheikh al-Qatrawani is located on the Dahrat Hamoud hill about 1.5 km south-west of Atara.

[30][31][32] The shrine is named after a local holy man, Sheikh Ahmad al-Qatrawani, who is believed to have died here with miraculous happenings.

Emigration surged between 1952 and 1955 to the Gulf Arab states, due to poor economic conditions in the West Bank.

[3] By 1961, the population was 1,110,[26] however, it decreased tremendously after the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan.

As a result, agricultural production has been further reduced and a substantial portion of 'Atara's economy became dependent residents working abroad.