The settlement is situated east of the Israeli West Bank barrier, 4.7 km kilometers from the Green line on what is officially known as Hilltop 850.

Established in October 2001 as an outpost, Avigayil has a population of roughly 50, consisting of 30 families[1] as of 2014, up from 17 registered in 2010,[2] and is within the municipal jurisdiction of the Har Hebron Regional Council.

[2] Avigayil is named after the biblical Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who lived, according to the Bible, in a place in Judea called Maon.

Avigayil was established on 1,000 dunams (250 acres) on Yom Kippur eve (September 26) 2001 by a group of newly discharged Israel Defense Forces soldiers on a hilltop chosen for its strategic location.

[1] In 2014 Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon announced that procedures were advancing to legalize the outpost.