Netivot is a city in the Southern District of Israel in Israel. At the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 26,700. It was founded in 1956 as a development town along with Sderot to the north, and Ofakim to the south. Netivot attracts a number of mainly Sephardi Jewish pilgrims, who come to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan-born tzaddik and kabbalist known as the "Baba Sali" (died 1984) who is buried there.