In 1912 the Abu Ghosh family sold thousands of dunams to Arthur Ruppin, who represented the Zionist movement.

[citation needed] During Hanukkah 1925, a group of Hebrew writers convened at Kiryat Anavim to discuss creative ways of promoting the land reclamation and settlement work of the Jewish National Fund.

[citation needed] On 9 November 1937, five members of the Gordonia group working on a Jewish National Fund afforestation project near Kiryat Anavim were ambushed and murdered by Arabs.

[9] In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 4th Battalion of the Palmach (Harel Brigade), with Uzi Narkiss, mounted their fight for Sha'ar HaGai, the road to Jerusalem, and the city itself, from Kiryat Anavim.

[10] Kiryat Anavim and the adjacent Ma'ale HaHamisha were the site of a battle for Mount Hagana between the Palmach (including troops that retreated from the Radar Hill) and the Transjordanian Arab Legion.

In 1968, the kibbutz produced cherries, peaches, grapes, and plums; and operated a guest house, cotton fields and orange groves.