The northern Palestinian coastal city of Acre — fondly referred to as “Um al-Ghareeb” (“The Stranger’s Mother”) — has managed to contain its centuries-old charm within the walls of the old city, the same walls that Napoleon infamously tried, but failed, to conquer. Yet, as with other Palestinian cities or areas within the state of present-day Israel, Acre is continuously subjected to the Israeli occupation policy of gentrification or Judaization, modern-day ethnic cleansing and confiscation of its Palestinian architectural and cultural buildings and houses.
On Oct. 18, hundreds of Palestinians marched in protest of the plan by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and the Israeli Land Authority to sell one of the city’s oldest and most famous khans to private investors, who will transform it into a 200-room hotel. Khan al-Umdan was built by Sheikh Zhahir al-Umar in the early 1760s, and was expanded and completed by Sheikh Ahmad al-Jazzar in 1784. It is now largely closed off to the public, with only one gate open for visitors and tourists.