Acre in a drawn-out process starting in the 1730s. Joudah views Zahir's moves as "inevitable", considering he already controlled Acre's fertile countryside and needed "an outlet to the sea" and was probably motivated by "potential profits". Zahir had commercial dealings with the French merchants of the city through his Acre-based partner, the Melkite merchant Yusuf al-Qassis. His first contact with the merchants came in 1731 when he arranged the settlement of debts owed to them by his brother Sa'd. Control of Acre would greatly improve his business potential, and the peace with Damascus under As'ad Pasha enabled Zahir to focus his military resources against the city. In 1743, Zahir had his cousin Muhammad arrested and executed to remove him as a rival for influence in Acre. That year, Zahir had requested the of Acre from Ibrahim Pasha, who, wary of Zahir's growing power in the province, rejected the request. Zahir took Acre by force, probably in 1744, and killed its . After mobilizing its ulema (Muslim scholars) and qadi (Islamic head judge) to petition the sultan on his behalf, in July 1746, Zahir was formally appointed the of Acre. In the first few years following his takeover of Acre, Zahir resided in Deir Hanna. He began fortifying Acre by building a wall around it in 1750. He built other fortifications and public buildings in Acre and promoted immigration to the city, which became his new headquarters. Afterward, Zahir confiscated five villages in Sahil Akka (the coastal plain of Acre), Julis, Mazra'a, Makr, Judayda, and Sumayriyya, as personal estates, which he also developed. He installed water mills on the Na'aman River south of Acre and the Ga'aton River north of the city, both part of the 16th-century (endowment) of Sinan Pasha to which he paid a fixed amount yearly. In 1757, Zahir had expanded his holdings southward, along Palestine's northern coastal plain, taking control of the villages of Haifa, Tira, and Tantura, and nearby Mount Carmel. Ostensibly, Zahir captured the harbor village of Haifa to eliminate the base established there by Maltese pirates, but he probably aimed to prevent the governors of Damascus from utilizing the port village, strategically positioned across the bay from Acre, as a launchpad against him, while also seeking another potential port for his domains. While As'ad Pasha had not acted against Zahir's occupation of Haifa, Uthman Pasha sought to return the port to Damascene authority. Acting