Located close to the Palestinian villages of Beitillu and Deir 'Ammar,[2] and some 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Modi'in, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.

The settlers initially lived in ten temporary houses that were not connected to electricity or water supplies.

[6] In March 2005 a group of 30 to 40 Jewish seminary students used clubs and stones to beat eight Palestinian men employed in Nahliel as they were entering the settlement.

[9] North and east of Nahliel are lands belonging to the Palestinians of the village of Beitillu, whose residents are only allowed to work on their orchards for a few days a year.

Significant damage to the Palestinian olive groves adjacent to the settlement was caused in 2012, but the culprits were unknown.