KEREM SHALOM, Israel — In a final drill, thousands of Israeli troops on Wednesday prepared for some of the worst scenarios in next week's Gaza pullout, from Palestinian mortar fire to settler violence and equipment failure.

Soldiers also blared rock music to force a group of mock protesters out of a building, a method used by U.S. troops elsewhere.

Beginning Aug. 17, some 55,000 soldiers and police will remove about 9,000 settlers in 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank.

Although officials expect most settlers will leave voluntarily, they are bracing for passive resistance and attacks by Jewish extremists or Palestinian militants.

Wednesday's drill took place at Kerem Shalom, a communal farm along Israel's border with Gaza. The army paid for residents to stay in a hotel during the exercise.

The first soldiers moved into Kerem Shalom around sunrise, closing the village. They were followed by police and paramilitary forces.

Soldiers posing as settlers barricaded themselves inside a synagogue and climbed onto rooftops, shouting slogans and throwing stones and flour bags.

Troops brought ladders and a crane carrying a large container to take down the protesters. One soldier playing the role of a settler suffered a mock heart attack, another fell off the roof and a pregnant woman complained of illness. They were treated by paramedics.

At one point, the army brought in a loudspeaker and blared loud rock music to overpower settler chants. Later, the soldiers used the speaker to bark out instructions to the settlers.

As police walked people into waiting buses, mock Palestinian mortar fire fell on the area. Some soldiers scurried for cover, while another group carried on with the operation.

Israel has been in close contact with Palestinian security officials to maintain quiet during the evacuation. On Wednesday, Israel's vice-premier, Ehud Olmert, urged the Palestinians to act forcefully against militants and expressed hope that the withdrawal will lead to a resumption of peace talks.

Residents of a small West Bank settlement marked for dismantling began handing over their weapons to security officers Wednesday in an effort to prevent violence during the withdrawal.

Assaf Mani, in charge of security in the settlement of Homesh, said he was collecting weapons on Wednesday and Thursday and then planned to turn over the guns to the army. He said residents also were storing private weapons with dealers or other closed places.

"People are angry about this (the withdrawal) but not opposing it. They are turning in their weapons without incident," Mani said. He declined to say how many weapons had been collected.

Security officials have gone on high alert since an extremist Jew opposed to the withdrawal opened fire on a crowded bus last week, killing four Israeli Arabs, before he was killed by an angry mob.

The Justice Ministry, meanwhile, said a Jewish seminary student with dual Israeli-American citizenship would be deported to the United States over fears he was planning to attack Arabs in an effort to derail the withdrawal plan.

The American, Saadia Hirschkop, 18 from Brooklyn, N.Y., agreed to be deported for 40 days instead of serving jail. Two other extremists arrested with Hirschkop remained under administrative detention, a procedure allowing arrest without charge.

With time running out before the pullout, many Gaza settlers have stepped up preparations for their impending departure in recent days. Moving vans have become an increasingly common site on the roads and some settlers are beginning to pack their belongings into shipping containers deposited on their front lawns.

Supermarket shelves were nearly empty and some of the area's few restaurants were preparing to close.

The settlement of Peat Sadeh, a small community in southern Gaza, planned a farewell ceremony later Wednesday. Its 100 residents plan to move en masse to a farming area near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. Similar farewell ceremonies are planned in other settlements.