♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz geoff bennett is away. on the newshour tonight is really forces continue operations in gaza as violence as glades in the occupied west bank as palestinian civilians remain cut off from critical aid. protests continue against a proposed police training facility in atlanta despite a crackdown against demonstrations. and major questions about water rights remain in our way as communities continue the long recovery from wildfires.

>> in these isolated communities water was and remains of the source of all life. in many ways -- ♪ this is a fight for the soul of hawaii. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour" including jim and nancy and kathy and paul anderson. >> it was like an aha moment, this is what i love doing. early-stage companies have this energy that energizes me. these are people trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs, it is the same thing. i'm helping people reach their dreams.

i'm thriving by helping others every day. people who know, know bdo. ♪ >> the john doe does and james l night foundation. more at kf.org. ♪ announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the "newshour." united nations officials today

said that starvation was an increasing possibility in gaza as a workforce to stop food and aid deliveries due to a lack of fuel. the communications blackout continues with no generator power. israel has said it will allow two tankers to enter for u.n. operations, half of what they need, and that is just for the most vital operations. palestinian officials say the death has surpassed 12,000. reporter: in central gaza at the camp, residents searched the rubble for the living and the dead. their bare there are only tools after israeli airstrikes reportedly killed at least 40 people. in southern gaza, once a refuge for this family, now smashed concrete. they have lost hope. >> every second of every minute there is a massacre. what humanitarian cease-fires?

they say the south is safe. what safety? reporter: just yesterday is really forces dropped leaflets warning residents to move elsewhere. many here were forced to leave their homes in north gaza. they came here because the idf told them that this would be safe. she lost 11 members of her family including both of her children. >> we were in gaza city and as a result of the conflict, we moved . all of my sisters died and my son and daughter also. i wish i had taken her in my arms and my twin sister also died. reporter: south dawes is a is overwhelmed. -- south gaza's hospital is overwhelmed. as doctors pump oxygen manually. babies injured by burning shrapnel and falling buildings. the grief is crippling.

in the north idf troops occupied parts of gaza city's hospital for a third day. yesterday the idf released this video of weapons they say were found on the hospital grounds but so far they have not shown evidence of their claim that hamas runs a command center underneath the hospital. this doctor is a senior plastic surgeon inside. >> they have found nothing. [indiscernible] the hospital is full of civilian patients. reporter: the hospital has been under siege for more than a week. he describes the terrifying conditions inside. >> we can only move in the middle of the day. there are no communications.

[indiscernible] they keep bombing other areas around it. reporter: palestinian health officials say more than 600 patients including 36 premature babies remain trapped inside the hospital. six babies have died and thousands of displaced civilians are still taking shelter in the hospital complex. in israel, such tragedies coulde been avoided if we only had someone that really cared about all of those kidnapped.

reporter: in the occupied west bank's janine refugee camp hundreds gathered for the funeral of three men killed last night in is really drone strikes. the idf says at least five militants were also killed. more than 200 palestinians have been killed by the idf since october 7. israeli forces also invaded hospitals in jenin. hospitals protected by international law are increasingly under attack in this word. palestinians, homeless and helpless say they have no safe harbors left. for the pbs newshour, i am layla allen. ♪ amna: in the days other

headlines a government shutdown has been averted for now. president biden signed into law a temporary spending bill to maintain funding for at least two more months as congress negotiates a long-term package. the bill does not include a white house request for wartime aid to israel and ukraine. in ukraine the country's military says it is making gains. the your work -- the ukrainian marine corps claimed more than 1200 russian troops have died in that operation and they have destroyed dozens of artillery systems and tanks. ukrainian troops aim to push russian forces from the eastern bank of a river that could open a route to russian annexed crimea route. flooding in eastern africa has now claimed the lives of at least 130 people. heavy rain since october has inundated some al yeah and ethiopia in what aid agencies are calling a once in a century event.

people in kenya had to hold onto ropes cross streets today. residents are frustrated their government has. -- has not done more to help. >> as you can see everything has been damaged. operations have stalled. many people have been affected and everywhere is flooded with water. we elected leaders but we cannot see any help. amna: the day louche comes as parts of the region experienced their worst drought in four decades. former first lady rosalynn carter is now in hospice care at her home in plains, georgia. the carter center says the 96-year-old suffering from a mentor has been spending time with her family including former president jimmy carter. mr. carter has been in-home hospice care since february. the head of the house ethics committee introduced a resolution to expel embattled representative george santos. comes a day after the committee

least a report citing overwhelming evidence that he used campaign donations for personal expenses. the house won't vote on the resolution a talk after they return from their thanksgiving break. honda is recalling more than 250,000 vehicles in the u.s. for potential crash risks. automaker warns that bearings could cause engines to lag or stall. it affects certain pilot suvs, odyssey minivans and ridgeline pickup trucks along with two different acura models. wall street closed out its third winning week today. the dow jones industrial average gained two points. the nasdaq rose 12 points. the s&p 500 added six. it is beginning to look a lot like christmas today in washington with the arrival of this year's capital christmas tree. the 63 foot norway spruce made the journey from west virginia's

monongahela national park each year a different national park provides the tree for the west lawn of the u.s. capitol. the holiday tradition dates back to 1960 four. still to come, the newshour, jonathan karl discusses his new book on donald trump's influence over the gop. house some arab muslim americans view u.s. support for israel and how it might affect their votes. david brooks and jonathan weigh in on week's political headlines plus much more. ♪ announcer: this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: dozens of people in atlanta are facing racketeering charges in connection to protests over what they called cop city, proposed training center for police and firefighters. reporter: protests against those

proposed 85 acre training center have been going on for more than two years. in january a protester was killed in a gunfight with police as they were clearing out a site where activists were camped. this summer the state's attorney general chris carr obtained a sweeping indictment using the states anti-racketeering law charging 61 protesters and characterizing them as militant anarchists. this week hundreds of marchers were met with flashbangs and teargas and today more crowds gathered near the proposed training site again calling for a halt to the project. a reporter for it lanna is covering it all. welcome back to the program. these protests have been going on for a long time and many groups are involved including environmentalists, police abolitionist, faith leaders and indigenous tribes. what did they most object to about this facility? reporter: there are a lot of

layers. people have been protesting the project for more than two years because it is an 85 acre facility that is estimated to cost about $90 million and it is going in an area where it is surrounded by low income majority black neighborhoods and people say it is going to disproportionately affect these people. a lot of people say they don't want to hear officers firing their guns in training in their backyards. reporter: what do police and city officials that approved the project say they need it for? reporter: the mayor has said the project is needed to have a well-trained police force and also firefighters. and that it is needed to improve their de-escalation training and to boost morale and to recruit more officers in the city. reporter: the siting of a police training facility is not

normally the kind of thing that stirs such opposition. do you have a sense why this has set off such a furor? reporter: protests have been going on for more than two years. i started covering it in january when a state trooper shot and killed a protester at the site. it is when people around the country started paying more attention to what is going on here. after that shooting happened, a special prosecutor investigated the case and in late august he determined that the shooting was justified and he would not be pressing charges or bringing charges against the officers involved. that sparked even more protests. reporter: the attorney general is using the ricoh laws normally used against organized crime to go after some of these protesters. what is he alleging they are doing that is part of this illegal conspiracy? reporter: that protesters are organizing around the country to raise funds and commit violent

acts. earlier this year in the city people were marching and they started destroying several buildings and setting police cars on fire. they are calling this organized crime which is why they are bringing these racketeering charges against them. reporter: and where did the protesters who were charged, where do their cases stand? reporter: the 61 protesters were arranged earlier this month. at the arraignment we learned that state prosecutors had collected about five terabytes worth of evidence. we expect the defense to take months to review all of this. at the hearing a judge set a final plea hearing for june. for next summer. we expect that to go on for months. reporter: i know you have been

on the ground talking to some of the protesters. do you have a sense for how long they are willing to keep the protest up? reporter: i've been asking that question every time i'm there and they always tell me, we are not going to stop. the racketeering charges, they see them as an attempt to silence people and a way to sway them from protesting the project. they say they will keep on going if and when the project is completed. this is one of the largest facilities of this kind in the country. since the project has started construction we have seen other cities also trying to build their own police training center. reporter: there is a public referendum that opponents have been gathering signatures for paired they hope that we'll get to the ballot and be voted on. this is something that the atlanta mayor has dismissed. how has the mayor been

navigating this crisis? reporter: when the organizers began collecting signatures he said he would stand back and allow the process to go through. but once the organizers submitted 160,000 signatures, double the number they needed to get it on the ballot, the case is in legal limbo and he says it is invalid and the city has refused to begin verifying the signatures. there is a hearing scheduled for next month where a judge will determine next steps. reporter: thank you so much for bringing us up to speed on this. reporter: thank you. ♪ amna: a year to go before election day and the republican presidential field continues to shrink.

polls have shown that former president trump continues to lead the field and could be the nominee to challenge joe biden. jonathan carl is abc's chief washington correspondent. he is an author. john joins me now. welcome and thank you. you write that donald trump today has remade the party in his own image. what are the key ways the party is different today than it was in 2015? >> the party is largely driven around him. he is a personality. the image of donald trump as the guy that is the ultimate winner, the image he has cultivated for himself. policy seems to have receded into the background. there are a few broad strokes on issues such as immigration and tariffs. largely a more isolationist approach to the world.

different from bill party of reagan, mccain, bush and romney. most of those figures, certainly the bush's, romney, john mccain before his death had essentially been banished from the party once donald trump came in. amna: when you look at some of the events we have seen among republican lawmakers in the last few weeks, there was the chaos of electing a new speaker of the house, an alleged shove between the former speaker -- are all of these characteristics in the new party in the image of donald trump? >> i mean, it is toughness, brashness, it is image over substance. and with mccarthy, one of the people that helped donald trump come back. he left the white house in 2021

in disgrace. a defeated president, an impeached president. facing all but certain criminal prosecution. kevin mccarthy went to visit him eight days after he left the white house i think largely the calculus he wanted was to get donald trump's support or not have him work against him so he could become speaker of the house. but it followed a pattern. so many people that have come into contact with donald trump whether opponents or allies or people that i've worked for him have had their lives turned upside down. kevin mccarthy got elected speaker. and then he was unceremoniously pushed aside. amna: the party had chances to break with donald trump. we thought january 6 would be one of those days. you included a remarkable photo. vice president pence evacuated.

when you ask mr. trump about that a few months later he makes excuses for that defending those people and you write this -- i figured these words would be the last straw driving top republicans to finally disavow the leader of their party once and for all but that is not what happened. why not? >> the specific quote i thought was so incredibly damming was that he was defending the people that were calling for mike pence's execution saying they were angry. and he went further to say, how could you pass on a fraudulent vote. making the case for those that were arguing or chanting, hang mike pence. to this day he has said nothing remotely critical of that day and in my interview he was

justifying it. i think what happened was -- the two critical moments are mccarthy going to see him but the other was mcdaniel. donald trump threatened the day he left the white house to leave the republican party and start his own party. and mcdaniel begged him to stay in paired one that did not work -- begged him to stay in and when that did not work, they would make it virtually impossible for him to raise money the way he has been raising money using their mailing list and donald trump relented and stayed in the party. what if mccarthy had said, good riddance. i'm not going back to kiss the ring. donald trump is gone and we have to move forward. what if mcdaniel said, go ahead and make your own party. at that point he was disgraced

and his popularity was at an all-time low. they instead felt they needed to bring him in because if he left the hard-core supporters, even if it was not the majority of the party, would leave and they would have a hard time winning. he stayed. they went and lost over and over and over again. amna: this is your third book about donald trump. after the second one, you said you felt a degree of optimism because at the time mr. trump and others efforts to overturn the election did not work in the system held. how do you feel now? >> i think it is an ominous time. this is a different donald trump. many characteristics are the same but he is far more willing even then he was on january 6 two trash the norms of american democracy and the things that make american democracy work here and he has fewer constraints.

on january 6 my optimism was, based on the fact there were good people around him, people that supported him that refused to do his will at the end when he tried to break the system. those people are gone now. i'm still optimistic by nature. i look at the way voters rejected in the midterm elections the lies about the election being stolen. i am still ultimately optimistic. but the bottom line is, the people that stood up to him have been exiled from the republican party. and this is going to be a tough part -- a tough battle. amna: john carl is the author of the new book, tired of winning, donald trump and the end of the grand old party. good to talk to you. ♪

amna: president biden's response to the ongoing israel-hamas or has angered muslim and arab americans. those voters represent a key voting block for democrats that help biden win in michigan in 2020. reporter: the biden administration has vowed unequivocal support for israel as more than a reported 11,000 palestinians have been killed. he has repeatedly called for extended humanitarian causes. arab and muslim voters say it is not enough. >> i live in dearborn heights, michigan and i work in education. >> lex s. >> i am a law student at the university of michigan. >> i am the founding director of

health and chief public health officer for the city of dearborn. when you cast aside the numbers of palestinians being killed in response to a question around a cease-fire, which in my view is the bare minimum request that can be made at this point, and the response the young nun, no possibility of a cease-fire from the president of the united states, we have no choice but to think about our work -- our reconsideration of our vote. >> a group of oz have been phoning and we have sent in hundreds of calls to our local representatives including our state senators and representatives and we have not received any callbacks. >> they feel but trade and demoralized and dehumanized by the administration. we are witnessing that their loyalty to the arab american community is dispensable to them. >> many of us come from

backgrounds of war. my family is in southern syria and they know war far too well. a lot of folks in dearborn have lived through war in lebanon, yemen, palestinians themselves whose connection to the west bank is well documented. this community knows war all too well and the traumas of war. >> i don't think our elected officials are doing enough to address the harm of the type of rhetoric they are using and we are seeing real consequences even in the u.s. a six-year-old boy was killed and chicago. there has been a rise of this -- islamophobia. this is not being given nearly the weight it should be. >> i don't think there is any way of walking back from this. rolling out a strategy to combat islamophobia is a little too

late, mr. president. >> there are gestures towards ending as llama phobia. and then there is a conflict with antisemitism. the language used by the white house and the democratic party is rooted in anti-islamic comments. >> there has always been a push post 9/11 to have us sitting at the table so our voices were heard but we see today especially that all of those conversations and all of the opportunities that we have had to have our voice heard has only fallen on deaf ears. why are we even bothering to have a seat at the table and bothering to share our voices when no one is actually listening to anything we have dese and that -- and then continue to misinterpret or miss

use of the words that we do share. it is putting us in a position where you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. >> the sad reality we are facing as voters in this country is that we are no longer voting for the lesser of two evils. reporter: muslim and arab leaders are warning the democratic party that if president biden does not change his approach he may lose their support. he resent poll showed 34% of democrats disapprove of joe biden's handling of the situation. coining me now to discuss the political ramifications is the ceo of the muslim advocacy group. thank you so much for being here. what are you hearing from muslim and arab voters about president biden's handling of the is your-hamas conflict as specially as the death toll continues to rise in gaza? >> we are hearing frustration,

anger, sadness and a feeling of the trail. the muslim american community according to the polling we conducted following the election found that 85% of muslim voters, those that cast a ballot said they voted for joe biden. many of them organized and contributed and cast their votes in protection of our democracy and quite frankly to get rid of donald trump. now they feel the betrayal that having supported and administration that said they value democracy and will confront authoritarianism and uphold human rights has given a carte blanche to someone like netanyahu to commit war crimes which have produced incredible carnage and devastation beyond the individuals killed. there are concerns further that gaza will be uninhabitable. amna: the administration, biden himself will say they have tried

to stress to netanyahu to abide by the laws of war but in a state like michigan and a population where there is a large population of muslim voters, president biden won that state by a margin of 154,000 votes. do you think the president could lose that state next year? >> absolutely. given the polling we are seeing you show the president behind in some of the swing states including michigan so we believe the elections will be closer to what we saw in connie 16 where donald trump won that state by 11,000 votes. there are 205,000 registered muslim american voters and it does not take a math genius to realize they could have an impact. amna: are muslim and arab voters going to vote for the republican nominee which at this point it looks like will be donald trump? will they stay home or vote

third-party? >> view muslim american voters like american voters of all backgrounds understand what is at stake next year. we have lived through four years of donald trump. and the outright bigotry and racism against black, brown, disabled, lgbtq, arab, muslim, immigrants asked people of all backgrounds. i think we are ahead of the election for next year. the community today, only 5% say they will vote for joe biden. that is way down from the 85% that we mentioned. we are focused on getting humanitarian assistance in and getting a cease-fire. amna: i wanted to ask you about the stakes you mentioned. you mentioned donald trump's muslim ban. he said he would extend that if

he wins at the election and he specifically said that he would bar refugees in gaza. are the voters you talking to aware of that? >> they are which is what is so frustrating about the situation. as americans, joe biden and the democrats built a big tent party. the policy is risking fracturing that coalition. and not just for muslim voters but for young voters, black voters, progressive voters, people of decency that are not ok with israel bombing its way out of a problem it is partly responsible for which is the occupation and seizure of gaza for the last many years. my fear is that this misguided policy driven by quite frankly a neocon approach that takes us back to the ugly days on -- of war on terror is fracturing the coalition and could hand this country and our future to the

dark forces of mager republicans. -- maga republicans. amna: the president has says he does not think a cease-fire is realistic because hamas has to be vanquished. because the president does not appear ready to support a cease-fire anytime soon, what exactly do muslim and arab voters want to see from him? is there something else he could do to win back their support? >> he can call for a cease-fire. he could not give $14 billion to netanyahu to spend as he pleases. we can condition the support to make sure that u.s. weapons and money do not end up killing civilians. right now only a few trucks are getting in. amna: thank you so much for your

time. >> thank you so much. ♪ amna: the biden administration's foreign policy efforts are at center stage this week. here at home some compromise on capitol hill but big funding questions ahead. we turn now to the analysis of david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. welcome to you both. let's jump right into foreign-policy and theng between president biden and xi, a year in the making. a year of rising tensions. the bar for success of that summit was low. just reestablish communications. did they meet the bar? >> i think they did. this meeting was a year in the making.

it was a meeting that had to happen. the world was happy to see the meeting. you cannot have the global superpowers at each other's throats as they have been over the last year over chinese military planes buzzing and other things that have been happening. the fact that president xi came to the u.s., to san francisco and met with the u.s. president and had what seems like good meetings, it is all for the good. china and the u.s. need to talk to each other. even if they are in competition, they still need to talk. amna: what you -- what were your key takeaways? >> i found it quite heartening. many have been alarmed by the intense military buildup of the chinese. their military spending has expanded at an explosive pace.

and they can outdo us. they can produce 21 nuclear summaries a year. we struggled to get one or two. and you don't spend that much money unless you are considering doing it and he clearly wants to take over taiwan at some point in his reign. we were looking at another war in the world sometime in the next year but now that looks unlikely because xi clearly projected an understanding that there has been a shift in the balance of power. the chinese economy is suffering for the first time in 40 years. the u.s. economy is growing faster. the chinese economy had a real estate crash. it needs investment and things they can export. he seemed to project the idea that he understands his vulnerability. there seems to be a sense that

could lead him to hubris seems less likely now. amna: among the topics discussed were the wars in gaza and ukraine. i want to ask about the growing concern we've been seeing in the u.s. with the last conversation that overall american support for israel remains high but as the war goes on and we have seen the death toll sort of gazans, we have seen opinion shift. earlier this week but were asked about the is really response and 38% say it is about right and 38% also said it is too much. the second 38% is worth noting because it is up 12 points in the last month. is the white house doing enough to message to those folks whose concerns are growing? >> clearly not.

as we saw in the piece, whatever the administration is doing is not getting through or folks just feel that israel in responding to the terrorist attacks against it is going too far. we knew this was going to happen. i remember in the aftermath of october 7. the conversation moved quickly from israel has a right to defend itself to how long will that window stay open? in the past when israel has been attacked it responds with overwhelming force. as the death toll goes up and the heart rending pictures come back into american homes we will see that "too much" go up which gets back to the bigger question. it is not so much of the messaging of the white house and

whether the american people here it, it is whether the messaging and the pleading of the white house to netanyahu to remember he is a small d democratic country and must abide by the rules of war. whether that is getting through. that is the question. amna: the further we move out the horrors of october 7 and i like many others have seen the videos that israeli officials have shared and it is horrific. they do not leave you. we know lawmakers are seeing those. but the further we got from that day, concern does grow. what do you make of that increase? >> the big story here is there has been a rupture between liberals and progressives. if you look at joe biden, hakeem jeffries, chuck schumer, barack obama and hillary clinton,

liberals, they argue that we have had multiple cease-fires with hamas and every time they use the cease-fire as an excuse to reload and then they break the cease-fire and there is more bloodshed. the argument they make is we can't go through the cease-fire rhythm over and over again. we have to solve the problem. the old strategy is facing -- is failing. on the progressive side they have adopted a policy which is not a traditional democratic policy of from the river to the sea. one state. that is not the traditional policy we associate with the democratic policy which has been very supportive of israel. and on a bunch of issues you are seeing this rupture between progressives that are younger and liberals that are older. and we are seeing it in spades in the case of israel and gaza policy. amna: to capitol hill we have

some good news. there is some compromise among lawmakers with democratic house speaker mike johnson getting a temporary funding bill through the house. of the president has signed it. they kicked the can down the road. tell me about speaker johnson's approach to bring the hardliners and address them in this way and get democratic help to get a temporary bill across the line. >> i was very skeptical of the new speaker's ability to avoid a shutdown. and instead he came up with those odd, laddered thing -- amna: a laddered continuing resolution. >> and he did it with overwhelming democratic votes. basically, he did the statesman thing. he kept the government open. he also did the same thing that

kevin mccarthy did that got him booted. there are rumblings from the house freedom caucus about them not liking this. i see the speaker being in the middle of a vice. motion vacate on one side and on the others a bunch of democrats willing to help him govern the country and keep the government open as long as he keeps doing the right. i don't know how long speaker johnson lasts but i'm happy he has given us this good news. amna: how long will those house freedom caucus members grant him a grace period? >> this is one case where my unrealistic optimism pays off. i think a couple things happened. once you become the speaker you have the responsibility and power tends to make people more responsible and more sober. not in the case of donald trump

but of others. [laughter] i think that happened. the last time the democrats did not help mccarthy lost his seat and they ended up with a more conservative speakers so why continue that process. i think people decided that we cannot have another catastrophe on our watch that is self-inflicted. there was enough sanity to do the right thing. amna: i have to ask you about the latest in the george santos saga before we go on. a look at the house ethics report on how he misused campaign funds. they try to expel him before. they are moving to expel him again. they said he will not go for reelection. >> you have the new -- you have the new york republicans desperately trying to get him out. and do yourself a favor and read the ethics report.

i've been in washington a long time. this one is breathtaking. it is like a pyramid scheme. he is robbing here and paying himself there and the stuff he spent money on, thousands of dollars at hermes, purchases at only fans and that is not a furniture store. he is out. i'll just leave it at that. amna: david, what would you like to say? >> he does not look like he wears hermes. there is an argument to be made that you should not expel someone that has not been convicted of a crime because it is too politically tempting. amna: going into this thanksgiving holiday week, i'm grateful for you both. thank you so much. >> good to see you.

♪ amna: the deadly wildfires that tore through maui three months ago destroyed thousands of structures and killed 100 people. they also reignited a long simmering concern over who controls one of the most precious natural resources, water. we were in maui to report this story. reporter: this modest stream trickling through the white cotton valley in central maui represents one small victory in a generations long struggle. for years, there was no water. >> the streams dried up overnight and not by mother nature but by the hands of men. reporter: but now fresh water

from the mountains freely flows down to this ancestral farm. with that water this educator and farmer can now grow taro, a crop that has deep cultural and historical meaning on the islands. >> we begin -- we believe that we come from this plant. it is our older brother. we will do everything in our power to protect it. reporter: for more than 100 years of growing this crop was nearly impossible because in the 19th century sugar plantations founded by americans and europeans diverted streams across the island to irrigate their fields. >> when the streams were diverted by the sugar plantations, the traditional irrigation systems went dry and the land crack literally from dryness. and the plants died. >> sugarcane needs water. it is a thirsty crop. the planters solution, burrow

tunnels through the mountains and egg miles of ditches. reporter: what did that do to the native people living here? >> besides taking away their food source it was their livelihood, traditions and language. reporter: in a manner -- in a matter of decades much of maui was transformed including lahaina which was once known as the venice of the pacific. it is a vision hard to imagine now after this summer's inferno burned so much. i'm standing in one of the many fields in lahaina that burned and in addition to the historic water diversions that went on here, the fight over water is complicated by climate change and reduced rainfall and increased drought. >> in an area that was already water scarce, it has created a tinderbox. reporter: university of hawaii

law professor has helped native hawaiians reclaim some new -- legal control of the islands freshwater. >> in these isolated communities water was and remains the source of all life. in many ways this is a fight for the soul of hawaii. reporter: hawaii's constitution protects water as a public trust but today some of maui's water systems including three quarters of a west maui's remain under control of it and development companies some of which are direct descendants of plantations. >> these plantations are no longer the backbone of the economy but they continue to take almost all of the water resources from our streams and communities for their private commercial gain. >> the sugar plantation is gone but it has been replaced i lawns and golf courses and hotels and large water users. reporter: he helps represent

hawaiians to risk -- to restore water. >> that was a david versus goliath. i just wanted to feed my family. very simple. we knew it would take time. reporter: his group's victory was part of progress made by native hawaiians over the years. but when the wildfires swept through lahaina killing 100 people and destroying thousands of building some raised questions about whether the legal fights over water made this disaster worse. during the fire the administration of hawaii's democratic governor, josh green suspended the state's water code and with it protections for native primers water rights. the next day a major real estate developer, the west maui land company asked state officials if it could permanently reduce the amount of water it had to

provide those farmers. west maui made the request for quote fire suppression in our community. soon after government green -- governor greene seemed to echo those concerns. >> there has been a great deal of water conflict on maui for many years. it is important we are honest about this. people have been fighting against the release of water to fight fires. reporter: they have never opposed diverting water to fight fires and argue they are not to blame for this tragedy. >> the idea that we are putting one side against another is a continued false narrative. putting water in the stream ensures we have water in our tap . by protecting this resource it will protect all of us. and not just hawaiians. >> almost arrogantly they refuse to listen to the law. reporter: a native hawaiian

farmer and leader has long advocated for increased oversight of the west maui land company. the company and its subsidiaries have been find repeatedly for breaching water laws including taking too much out of the stream. >> i think the west maui land company used this tragic time in people's pain hoping they would be distracted to push their agenda to regain the water they lost. and josh green helped them out. reporter: west maui land company rejects those assertions. in a statement it said it simply wants to guarantee that enough water is available to fight fires when needed. several weeks after the fires officials reinstated the states water code. but many in lahaina and across maui remain outraged. >> water is like -- life comes from water but what happens when it is not around?

reporter: water rights have become a rallying cry. last month hundreds attended a state water commission meeting demanding and overhaul of how water is managed in heine. -- in lahaina. >> the homes and for all of us here that have lost would still be there had there been responsible management of our water resources. reporter: in central maui, past this patch, in a stream that his legal battle helped restore, he says bringing water back to lahaina was streams will not only revive traditional farms but it could also help heal long damaged ecosystems. it did just that in his own backyard. these native freshwater snails

now come in here could not survive without this water. >> these have to go down to the ocean to spohn. -- to spawn. when you see this you know it is worthwhile. they don't have a voice. they require us to speak up for them. reporter: in the wake of the devastating fires, a growing chorus of native hawaiians seem to be doing just that. for the pbs newshour, william brangham. ♪ amna: be sure to tune into washington week with the atlantic tonight on pbs. jeffrey goldberg and his panel will discuss former president donald trump's echoing of former dictator's. and tomorrow on pbs news weekend, how nurse practitioners

are filling a much needed health care gap and the fight to provide more health care for patients independently. and that is the newshour for tonight. on behalf of the entire team, thank you for joining us and have a great weekend. announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ ♪ ♪ >> moving our economy for 100 years, bnsf, the engine that can access. ♪ announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and

george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. israel's special forces remain inside gaza's al-shifa hospital still searching for proof that hamas headquarters are underneath. we bring you a report on what was found. and israel's allies wrestle with conflict and conscience. my conversation with former french president francois hollande. then a story of devastating loss. the doctor still fights for peace after losing dozens of family members to this