The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) cuts the power supply to 2/3 of the Jericho district because of alleged unpaid debts on the part of the PA and the Jerusalem District Electricity Corp. (JDECO). A JDECO official says that his org., the PA, and the IEC have a disagreement over rate calculation and interest rates, and that a lawsuit is pending. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct late-night raids and house searches nr. Bethlehem and Nablus, arresting 8 Palestinians, and patrol during the day nr. Salfit and Hebron. In Israel, Israeli forces shut down a poultry factory in the Negev as punishment for employing Palestinians working in Israel illegally. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing no injuries. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. Khan Yunis, and violently disperse Palestinian protesters nr. Jabaliya r.c., injuring 1 Palestinian. (HA, MNA 3/31; AFP 4/3; PCHR 4/7)
An IDF military tribunal downgrades the charges facing Elor Azaria, the soldier who killed the supine Palestinian in Hebron on 3/24, from “murder” to “manslaughter.” The soldier will be released on bail on 4/1. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA 3/31)