It is located about 20 km (12 mi) east of Tel Aviv, on the Israeli side of the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank, in the southern portion of the "Little Triangle" of Arab-Israeli towns and villages.

On February 12, 2008, Israeli Minister of the Interior Meir Sheetrit declared Kafr Qasim a city in a ceremony held at the town.

[3] The town's area was populated in ancient times, based on remains from the Middle Paleolithic period found in the Qesem Cave.

[6] Kafr Qasim is identified with Kefar Kesem (Hebrew: כפר קסם), a site mentioned in the Tosefta as home to a pagan holy tree.

[11] In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described the village as being of moderate size, with buildings constructed principally of adobe, on low hill in open ground.

On October 29, 1956, on the eve of the joint Israeli, French and British invasion of Egypt, Israel moved up the time of the local curfew as it was concerned that nearby Jordan would enter the fighting.

[19] After the curfew started, a platoon of Israeli border police who had been sent to the area encountered and killed 49 villagers returning to Kafr Qasim from their work in the fields.

Israeli parliamentarian Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur, a native of Kafr Qasim, served for a decade on the town council and heads the southern faction of the Islamic Movement of Israel since 1999.

Kafr Qasim served as the primary filming location for the Israeli political thriller television series Fauda.