[2] Under the terms of the Oslo Accords of 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, Karmei Tzur was designated Area "C" under full Israeli civil and security control.

[6] Karmei Tzur, meaning "Vineyards (or Olive Groves) of Rock" or "Stalwart Vineyards",[7] was established in 1984 by a group of students from the Har Etzion Yeshiva in Alon Shvut, and was named after the nearby Hasmonean and Biblical place of Beth-Zur[8] Karmei Tzur is situated east of the Israeli West Bank barrier, 8.3 kilometers from the Green line[2] in the Judean hills north of Hebron, 22 kilometers from Jerusalem.

[9] It was established in 2001 in memory of Dr. Shmuel Gillis, a senior physician at the Hadassah Medical Center and resident of Karmei Tzur of English origins who was killed when Palestinians shot him while driving home on 1 February 2001 during the Second Intifada.

[12] In June 2002 Hamas militants, possibly assisted by Islamic Jihad men,[13] infiltrated the Tzur Shalem outpost and killed Ayal Sorek (23) and his 9-month-pregnant wife Yael (24) along with reserve soldier Shalom Mordechai (35) from Nahariya.

[14] As B'Tselem reports, in October 2011, settlers from Karmei Tzur threw stones at Palestinians demonstrating against what they claimed was the seizure of their primarily privately owned land forming the special security area (SSA) surrounding the settlement, which settlers can enter freely, while the Palestinian landowners must obtain special permits to enter.

A Palestinian photographer who was filming the events was injured, while apparently security officials from the settlement and Israeli soldiers did not intervene.