[8] During the Roman period it was one of three important markets for fruits, grains and legumes in the northern Judean mountains, southern Samaria, and the region of Lod.

[13] During the Crusader period Diya' al-Din (1173–1245) writes that there was a rural mosque in Yasuf, indicating that there was a significant Muslim population in the village at the time.

"[16] The village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers under the name of Yasuf ar-Rumman.

The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, goats and beehives; a total of 6,700 akçe.

Situated between Dayr Ghassāna in the south and the present Route 5 in the north, and between Majdal Yābā in the west and Jammā‘īn, Mardā and Kifl Ḥāris in the east, this area served, according to historian Roy Marom, "as a buffer zone between the political-economic-social units of the Jerusalem and the Nablus regions.

On the political level, it suffered from instability due to the migration of the Bedouin tribes and the constant competition among local clans for the right to collect taxes on behalf of the Ottoman authorities.

The village had an excellent supply of water which was collected in a pool, near the steps down was a beautifully carved niche with a shell motif.

[20] In the 1882 PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), Yasuf is described as, "an ancient village," located in a valley, with a Roman road passing nearby.

There is a sacred place, with a large oak (Sindian), and a ruined shrine, south-west of the village, near 'Ain er Raja.

To the west of the village under an oak tree lay the ruins of a Maqam (shrine) for Sheikh Abu Hasan among the remains of other old drystone enclosures.

[31] Prayer carpets and holy books were destroyed in the fire, and the arsonists left behind graffiti reading, "We will burn all of you," and, "Prepare to pay the price.

[31] Following the incident, Israeli forces opened fire on 100 Palestinian residents of the village who were protesting the arson.

[31] In January 2010 the extremist settler Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira was arrested by the Israeli police for alleged involvement in the torching of the mosque.