Located on a slope overlooking the Jerusalem Mountains, Ein Karem, the Motza Valley and Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council.

In 1929, old Motza was attacked by Arab rioters and some residents were murdered.

[2] Four years later in 1933 a new moshav, Motza Ilit, was established at a higher location on the same slope.

[3] In January 1934 a house-warming party was held by twenty Jewish families who had built homes in Motza Illit with the aid of the Jewish National Council ("Va'ad Leumi") and emergency funds.

[4] Motza Illit overlooks the Judaean Mountains, the churches and monasteries of Ein Karem, the Beit Zayit water reservoir and the Jerusalem Forest.