Israel officially reopened the West Bank settlement of Ganim yesterday more than 20 years after it withdrew from the community, emblematic of current government’s policy of rapid settlement expansion.

The smell of freshly poured asphalt hung in the air above Ganim’s newly-made street, where future residents and their families smiled at the sight of their pre-fabricated homes.

Ganim is one of four settlements in the occupied West Bank that Israel evacuated under ex-PM Sharon’s disengagement plan in 2005.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces yesterday moved against rogue settlers who have besieged Palestinians amid unusually strong US criticism. Settlers near Nablus since Sunday have blockaded Palestinian homes, including one owned by a US citizen.