In 1596, it was named as a village, Majdal Salim, in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the Liwa Safad, with a population of 51 households and 8 bachelors, all Muslim.

The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, fruit trees, vegetable and fruit garden, orchard, goats, beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 9,110 akçe.

A monolithic column lies beside it, half buried in the ground, surmounted by a capital sculptured in form of open basket work.

"[6] In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as a "large village, built of stone, of ancient appearance, containing about 500 [..] Metawileh [..].

[9] During the 1996 Israeli seventeen day bombardment of south Lebanon the Nepalese UNIFIL position in Majdal Selem was hit by eight shells and extensively damaged.