"If this is what happens before disengagement, God knows what will be here next month." - Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal



Sderot, located across the border from Gaza, was pounded by mortar fire last week as Palestinian terrorists fired more than 130 rockets and mortars at Israeli targets on both sides of the border in a few days' time. No serious injuries in Sderot this time, though past shellings have killed residents.



Rachel Ben Abu and Nofar Horowitz were buried side by side in a joint funeral on July 13 after the two best friends were murdered in the notorious bombing at a Netanya mall, which killed five Israelis in all.



Dana Glakowitz, 22, died Thursday evening when a shell fired from Gaza slammed into her home, on the Israeli side, as she sat on a porch with her boyfriend.



In Gaza City, two teen-aged Palestinian youths died when they were caught in a crossfire between terrorists and police. As the mother of one victim said, her son was killed by a Palestinian bullet.



Which leaves us with this inescapable prospect: The evacuated settlement regions will end up in a state of chaos once the settlers leave Gaza and the four settlements in the northern West Bank. That, of course, begs this question: What should be done about it?



A strong military force must be deployed in Gaza that will crush any terrorist factions. If any military force is capable of this, it is the Israel Defense Forces.



The Palestinian Authority might be in charge of the land on a de facto basis, but anyone who can have confidence in the PA's ability to keep order should be barred from ever running a personnel department. On paper, an international force - probably supplied by the United Nations - is the best bet. But Israelis do not trust the UN and an international force will likely have no idea what they are dealing with.



That leaves Israel. Its military is the only force with the experience, will, determination and capacity to keep terrorists in check, if not put them out of business altogether.



There are many advantages for all parties who are serious about seeking peace. Above all else, the Israeli government is obligated to protect its citizens. If terrorists can establish a stronghold along Israel's border - well, actually, they have already done something along these lines - then they can step up their attacks on Sderot and other border towns. As Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal suggests up top, think of what Palestinian terrorists can do without anyone even there to stop them.



With the settlers gone, the military will no longer need to worry about defending them. It will be able to do with fewer troops or put them to greater use securing the region. This will help Israel on political and diplomatic levels because more of the international community will understand that Israel will maintain troops there only for security concerns.



Keeping an Israeli force in place will help the Palestinians in two ways. In the short term, the deaths of Palestinian civilians will likely be averted, because should terrorists attack, then Israel will probably retaliate, and that could well lead to deaths of innocent Arabs, as it has done in the past.



PA President Mahmoud Abbas will have an opportunity to build a Palestinian state on a more stable foundation if Israel contains the terrorists.



For the sake of full disclosure, I suggested in a past column that an international force is probably the only way to confront this situation. A reader helped convince me otherwise.



Even though I have urged dismantling settlements, I did not say that Israeli troops should necessarily be removed. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon previously claimed that the settlements, particularly those in the West Bank, should be located in strategic spots such as the hilltops. Why could not Israel have limited these positions to a military presence?



Now that Sharon is removing some of the most vulnerable settlements, Israel can surely justify deploying troops in those locations.



[Information contained in this commentary was first reported by the Associated Press and the New York Times.]