>> good evening. >> i am geoff bennett. on the newshour, moments before trial, fox news settles a legal case with dominion systems over the network' lies about thes 2020 election. >> questions abound in a shooting where a homeowner opened fire on a young person who mistakenly approached their house. >> cases of long covid keeping many americans from going back to work. >> my body is broken.on some days, i feel like a cracker somebody put in their hands and crumbled. that is how my body feels. ♪

announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson, and camilla and george smith. >> q not is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of entertainment and british style. all with the white star service. announcer: the john s. and james l knight foundation. more at kf.org.

announcer: and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. the defamation trial against fox news ended before it started. dominion voting systems had alleged the right wing network knowingly broadcast lies that its voting machines were used to steal the 2020 election.

amna: in a settlement announced today, foxx agreed to pay $787 million, roughly half the amount that dominion had been seeking. dominions lawyers said the deal was a ringing endorsement for truth and democracy. >> the truth matters. flies have consequences. -- lies have consequences. over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept dominion and election officials across america into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to dominion and the country. geoff: in a statement, fox news said, we acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims against dominion to be false. the settlement reflects foxx's commitment to the highest journalistic standards. david is our media correspondent and is outside the courtroom in

delaware. thank you for being with us. dominion executives and lawyers sidestepped reporters' questions about what if any admission of guilt is included in this settlement beyond the initial statement that i just read. you were in the courtroom. do we have any clarity on that? david: i think we have clarity about what fox is willing to admit. it is willing to admit that false claims were made, and that it wanted the nation to be able to move on from the controversies engendered by these false claims that there had been election fraud to cheat then president trump of victory. but essentially, the payment, the announcement of the size of the payment is the apology. that is what fox is willing to give her that is what the murdochs are willing to pay to make, to be able to sidestep themselves the question of any apology, and to be able to avert

rupert murdoch and others from having to testify in court and from more embarrassing testimony or evidence to come forward about how fox operated in that crucial period after the elections. geoff: the settlement means fox will avoid a messy and embarrassing trial. one could imagine why they wanted to settle the case. what is in it for dominion? why were they inclined to settle? david: you could note that is exactly $12.5 million less than $800 million, which would be the halfway mark to the $1.6 billion that dominion sought. it is an astronomical figure. more than foxx and the murdochs have paid for any other settlement, far more, and it's an opportunity to avoid being tied up in court for years not in his trial, given that dominion unmasked so much evidence of the knowledge that people inside fox had that what

they were putting on the air was true and damaging -- was untrue and damaging. dominion prevailed upon appeal, and appellate courts often reduce the amounts awarded by juries. dominion would have been rolling the dice if they turned down the opportunity to achieve a settlement as large as this. i want to reiterate the size of the settlement, nearly $800 million, becomes the apology itself. geoff: foxx corp. in february reported total quarterly revenues of $4.6 billion. it is $787.5 million, is that enough? will it make enough of a dent for fox to change the way it does business, to stop knowingly spread disinformation about the 2020 election?

david: i think it is enough to stop sowing misinformation and falsehoods and lies about the 2020 race, and fox has backed off from doing that. it is an open question that fox will do business extremely differently. they may not broadcast explicitly false claims, but i think the tenor, stoking certain forms of cultural grievances, and really ignoring unwelcome truths is likely to continue to be adopted by fox news because of what you cited, the billions of dollars it generates in revenues and profits. it is the most important property that the murdochs control. i don't think you will see fox do business greatly differently. this is not pocket change. this is not lose money you find between couch cushions, even for somebody named murdoch.

but it is not enough to make them say, we are not going to do business this way. i think they will avoid explicitly false claims but embrace the tenor of what they say, which is what people are looking for anyway. geoff: david, thanks for that reporting and for being with us. ♪ in the day's other headlines, heavy gunfire echoed in sudan's capital after a cease-fire was supposed to begin. the military and paramilitary rebel force agreed to a temporary truce, but fighting raged on. game cartoon, civilians lined up outside of bakeries despite the danger, desperate for fresh food after four days of combat. >> the situation is very hard. it was sudden. there is no electricity or water.

it is the fourth day in a row without water. people were not prepared. as you can see, most goods are not available. geoff: late tonight, the u.s. embassy advised americans in sudan to shelter-in-place. in ukraine, two warring leaders made visits to their troops. the kremlin released video of russian putin visiting a russian-held crimea of the kherson region of. president volodymyr zelenskyy visited with soldiers in the donetsk province. a russian judge ordered the former wall street journal reporter evan gershkovich in jail. the 31-year-old appeared in public for the first time in weeks, standing in a glass cage in moscow city court. afterward, his lawyers said he is staying up be. >> he is in the mood. he is in a fighting spirit.

he is ready to prove the right to free journalism. he is ready to defend himself. at the court session, he made a corresponding statement that he was ready to make a statement that he was innocent. geoff: he was accused of trying to get secret information about a russian arms factory. u.s. government and the wall street journal strenuously denied the charges. in this country, the u.s. supreme court heard arguments on whether the postal service violated a mail carrier's religious rights by forcing him to work on sundays. he eventually quit and is asking the court to revisit in 1977 ruling that allowed employers to deny some religious accommodations if they impose undue hardship on southwest airlines faced a new disruption after data connection problems briefly grounded its flights nationwide. the grounding lasted 70 minutes, delaying more than 1800 flights. customers -- four months ago,

the scheduling system collapsed during the christmas travel rush. damar hamlin says he's been cleared to return to pro football four months after his heart stopped during a game. emergency crews worked to save him in front of the national tv audience. today he reflected on at all. >> being able to wake up and take deep breaths and live a peaceful life, to have a family, to have people around me that love and care about me, and for those people to still care about me, i am most died on television on national tv. geoff: hamlin says he started attending voluntary off-season workouts with no medical restrictions. the fda cleared the way for yet another covid-19 booster. approval could come as early as

tomorrow. those 65 and older are eligible for the booster that targets the omicron spring and its offshoots. the original versions of the vaccines will no longer be used. on wall street, stocks had little to show. the dow jones lost 10 points. the nasdaq fell four points. a toddler has joined the ranks of white house intruders. a little boy squeezed through the security fence today. he was intercepted by secret service officers and returned to his parents. the space between defense bars was widened by an inch. still to come, government officials come under scrutiny for failing to keep migrant children out of unsafe jobs. more on the efforts to free wall street journal reporter evan gershkovich from russia. we will speak with former israeli prime minister bennett

about the recent violent clashes in his country. announcer: this is the pbs wetan washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: amna: two stories of homeowners shooting a teen and killing a young adult for going to the wrong address have stunned many from around the country. both suspects are charged, but it is hardly easing any of the anger or grief. gabrielle hayes begins with this report. gabrielle: hundreds of students walked out of school in kansas city to demand justice in the shooting of their fellow classmate roff yong. an 84-year-old man shot him after he mistakenly went to his home to pick up his younger brothers. the homeowner andrew lester has been charged with two felony counts, including first-degree

assault. he was taken into custody today. the 16-year-old was not carrying a weapon and did not cross the man's threshold. his aunt faith describe the terrifying incident. >> he said, don't ever come back here again, as he shot him in the head. gabrielle: clay county prosecutors confirmed there was a racial component to the shooting, but did not elaborate. he is recovering at home after being hospitalized. lee merritt is the family's attorney. >>'s prognosis is guarded based on the significance of this kind of traumatic brain injury. how well he is doing is miraculous. we are excited about the progress he's made appear gabrielle outrage is growing in new york after 65 euros kevin

monahan has been charged in the death of a white woman looking for a friends house. kaylyn gillis was riding with friends saturday when they made a wrong turn on his property. washington county sheriff jeff murphy said she was shot while they were trying to turn the car around. >> once they were determined they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch, for whatever reason, and fired two shots, one of which struck the vehicle that she was in. gabrielle: the shooting took place in a rural town with limited cell phone service, so her friends had to drive to a neighboring town to call 911. after initially resisting, monahan was taken into custody and booked for second-degree murder. as anger mounts in upstate new york, in kansas city, ralph's supporters are condemning his shooting and cheering on his recovery. i am gabrielle hayes.

amna: activists are calling for hate crimes charges to be filed in the shooting. the suspect in the case was released today on bond. joining me now is kansas city mayor quentin lucas. mayor lucas, welcome. thank you for joining us. i know you have been in touch with ralph yarl's family. what can you tell us? >> ralph has had a miraculous recovery. to be shot in the head and a second time by this defendant and be out of the hospital by now is absolutely miraculous. i know at least physically they are holding up. this young man had seemingly everything going for him in the world and was struck by this unimaginable incident. amna: what about people in your community? the idea that a child or

teenager could be shot for showing up at the wrong house is a horrifying notion for parents, especially parents of black children. how is this resonating in kansas city? >> terrifying. it is terrifying for everyone. it is one of those things for me in public service, those of y'all in journalism, you wake up with it in the middle of the night and worry. i was looking at my door in my home and think, how can somebody think it is right to shoot out of their door, with two locked doors, by the way, and the fact this defendant said he was scared of this kid, and it is what leads to the conversation about race, which is very much a part of this. it leads to the concerns about the fact that guns and guns everywhere are killing our country. the question we have to ask is, as we expand stand your ground laws and possession laws, no red flags for those who shouldn't have guns, how many ralphs get

shot? that is the concern. amna:amna: mayor lucas, what else can you tell us about andrew lester, the 80 four-year-old charged in the shooting? we know he was charged yesterday and taken into custody late this afternoon and recently released on bond. there were a lot of questions about why he was not taken into custody sooner. what is your understanding about how that unfolded the way it did? > i am learning more as everyone else does. he turned himself in. something that concerns a lot of people in the world is, often when you shoot somebody, oftentimes you don't have the convenience of showing up at the jail. that is what happened today. what we have learned is he's got a particularly well healed family. he was able to put $20,000 down

to be released. this man is out on the streets of kansas city again. i don't think age is an excuse. hopefully as we go through this prosecution, hopefully it is something that lays the base for not only expanded hate crimes charges, and certainly a clear conviction. amna: the prosecutors said that ralph did not cross the threshold into the home. you mentioned the stand your ground law. do you think that could be used as a defense? >> i believe they will use several different laws, one of which is the castle doctrine, which is that you can protect your home, your castle, and if you have apprehension, you can shoot somebody -- usually somebody who comes within it.

the concern i have is, because we expanded so many self-defense laws so not only do you have the right to protect yourself in your home, but you can go outside your home, outside your car, and as you saw with the trayvon martin tragedy, you can pick a fight with somebody, and if you think you're going to lose, you can kill them. i expect each one of these defenses to be raised. that is why you see people in my community saying, we've got to do more at the state legislatures and more places to amna: in a minute or so we have left, we are talking about a 16-year-old kid. his parents say he loved video games and music. the life of his family is forever changed. you said you wanted to see justice in this case, so what does justice look like to you? >> it is very hard, i guess,

because justice for the family is a conviction. i see that they have a gofundme going. more broadly, justice is allowing black people in our country to feel like they are not in some ways criminals with all they do. driving while black, ringing the doorbell while black is not something people should be worried about. we will have to fight to try to get justice. amna: that is mayor quentin lucas of kansas city joining us. mayor lucas, thank you for your time. geoff: today is tax day, but we are waiting to see how long the country has before it could

default on its bills. more than $31 trillion worth. lisa desjardins has the latest on how lawmakers plan to avoid a financial crisis of their own making. where does house speaker kevin mccarthy's proposal, where does that stand? lisa: this is the week where house republicans have to figure out, do they have something they agree on amongst yourselves? this morning we were outside the closed door meeting for house republicans when speaker mccarthy unveiled his proposal. here is what we know about so far. speaker mccarthy said he was willing to increase the debt limit until 2024. that could change, that is where he is now. he said he would like spending to be cut back to 2022 levels. in addition, a future limit on growth to 1% per year for the next 10 years, and he said he would like to see more work requirements for medicaid and snap.

some people may know that by the name of food stamps. those are ideas on the table, and those are many ideas that senate democrats probably won't agree to. however, that might not be enough for house republicans. coming out of that meeting, several of those holdouts made it difficult for speaker mccarthy to get his job and said they were not happy with this proposal as it is now. geoff:geoff: republicans opposing this plan, what do they want? lisa: we did a lot of reporting on this today. ca everyone knows thisv is a doi or don't do moment. -- everyone knows this is a do or don't do moment. here is chip roy on the glenn beck show. >> speaker mccarthy has a tough job. i am not trying to give him an excuse. we laid out an outline that i think is a good framework, ok?

there are some things we need to address. lisa: he wants the following things -- to get rid of the inflation reduction act, a signature achievement from president biden, but they are pushing to get rid of the climate change credits. other ideas, clawing back money going to the irs, billions of dollars. they think this needs to be much more conservative, and speaker mccarthy will have to get there if he wants his conference on board. geoff: where are we with the risk of a real debt crisis? lisa: let's look at the math for the house. you have 222 republicans in the body. there are 218 votes needed to get anything through the chamber . there are 16 republicans who never voted for a debt limit at all. they need every republican on board. it is not clear they have 218.

i think this will come to a head next week. then we will be in a quandary. some democrats say it may be an advantage for them. it is hard to predict what is going to happen, and that is a problem. amna: let's talk about another -- geoff: let's talk about another story were following, the absence of democratic senator dianne feinstein p there there was action on that today. lisa: the fact that she cannot show up for votes right now because she is out with complications from shingles is freezing judicial nominees. senator schumer asked the senate to allow her to be temporarily replaced? there was an objection. senator schumer will have to reconsider what he does next. in general, our reporting says republicans will not allow her to temporarily step down.

the option is, do they put pressure on dianne feinstein to resign? i am told she has no plans to do that or retire early, but it leaves them in a difficult situation. here is what senator schumer said, being careful to stay on message. >> i spoke with senator feinstein a few days ago, and she and i are hopeful that she will return soon. let me say again, i spoke with senator feinstein last friday. she and i are hopeful she will return. lisa: we do not know if she will return soon, and in the meantime, the clock is ticking here on these critical months forgetting judicial nominees through. geoff: more to come, thanks so much. lisa: you're welcome.

geoff: three years after the start of the pandemic, some 16 million americans have long covid, meaning symptoms continued well after the initial infection. an estimated 4 million people say that long covid has reduce their ability to carry out day to day activities. for many, that includes their jobs. paul solman has our story, which was produced by diane lincoln estevez. >> covid makes things harder. paul carli: remembers her mom before long covid. >> she went on some walks with me. paul: she can't do that now? >> no. paul: is it sad? >> yeah. paul: they say their mom is out of action these days. >> she tends to be bed a lot more. paul: how much? >> a good bit of the day every

day. >> my activity here is standing here and talking to you. paul: meredith hearst was a paralegal in wilmington, delaware. she has not been able to work in three years. doing this interview, a struggle. >> i have to prepare in advance by resting days in advance, and getting ready today, i had to take breaks between. i get shortness of getting dressed. i also get extremely exhausted getting dressed. paul: i cover economics, not medicine, but long covid may be a major factor in one of the most bedeviling trends in the economy, the lack of workers. >> people who get long covid are more likely to be subsequently unemployed. paul: so says northeastern university's david laser. >> they are 16% less to be employed. >> we do have a big long covid

problem. paul: there are many others who like meredith hearst are no longer working, says researcher katie bock. >> i would say somewhere around 500,000. that will not include people who have reduced their hours. paul: and the afflicted do not appear to be coming back anytime soon due to a slew of symptoms. >> i will get pain down my arm, elbows, hands, shortness of breath, tachycardia, extreme exhaustion. >> the pain in my foot is often. paul: philip was a social worker for the state of massachusetts. >> i've done social work for 25 years. paul: but covid put him in the hospital in march of 2020, and he's never been the same. >> my stamina and ability to go up and down the shares -- stairs is a struggle. paul: another symptom recurred

during our interview, brain fog. >> i can't tell you how long we've been talking now, but this is where it gets harder to focus. >> i feel every nerve in my body now that i didn't use feel before i had covid and long covid. paul: this woman was a teacher in baltimore before she got sick. >> my body is broken. on sundays, i feel like a cracker that somebody can put in their hands and crumble because that is how my body feels. paul: smith first discussed her condition on the newshour two years ago. >> it felt like a ghost or monster started to inhabit my body. paul: and today -- >> my memory has gotten progressively worse. paul: interacting with you, you seem as sharp as anybody i talked to. >> long covid is a very sneaky, invisible condition that people don't recognize unless they are -- there are visible symptoms.

today i feel ok, but when you leave here and when it conversation ends, i will be on my couch for the next 5-6 hours because this conversation itself is exhausting. paul: post exertional malaise. meredith hearst had it for a week after our interview, has her son documented. philip is heartbroken that he can no longer do the adoption work he loved. >> when you can match a child that needs a family to a family, it feels wonderful to be able to say, now you are going to move on as a family. paul: he asked for accommodations to return part-time. they said, i either come back full-time, full capacity, or tendering a resignation? paul: that is what you had to do? >> that is what i had to do. >> when i tried to go back to

work, i got physically sick. paul: hearst tried to return to work twice. >> the swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, fever, achiness. that is what happens when i overexert myself. >> i love my job. i pat myself on the back to say that i was an extraordinary teacher. paul: smith's realization that she could never teach really hurts. >> you know, as a black girl growing up in southeast d.c. in the hood, in a poor community, people would tell me because i was the nerdy girl, you should teach. when i became a teacher. it was like the puzzle pieces of my life started to fit together. that was my true calling. paul: but not anymore.

and the financial toll is immense. >> 80% of my income is government assistance based. i receive social security. i am on section eight housing, and i receive food stamps from the government. paul: simply applying for benefits has been hard for hearst. >> i did try to apply for social security disability on my own, and due to my disability, i was not able to complete the application. paul: how do you survive? >> maxing out my credit cards. i've drained out of my 401(k) at this point. i am going to be applying again for social security disability in hopes of having some income assistance. paul: long covid is taking its toll on the economy, as well. the total estimate, in the hundreds of billions. >> it includes lost wages for people not working.

it includes increased health care costs, and there is the lost quality of life. there is a cost to people suffering. paul: it is suffering that philip knows only too well. >> i've gone through times of, i have not left my room for days, depression, thoughts of suicide, rage. >> i was in teaching. i could not stand up. i could hardly move my body. i was nauseous all the time. i couldn't poop. i could hardly pee. i wanted to die. >> this tree dies in the country. paul: finally there is the cost to others, like the kids of meredith hearst. hearst mourns the mother she once was. >> we would go to the mountains and take vacations and things like that, and i am not able to

do that anymore. they are memories now. they are memories of a life i used to live. i'm not able to anymore. paul: memories her daughter shares. >> we used to do a bunch of picnics. paul: painful even for the reporter, and perhaps you, too. paul solman. amna: his lawyer said today that evan gershkovich is ready to fight after an appearance in a moscow court room after he faced espionage charges launched by. russian authorities the u.s. says the reporter is wrongfully detained, and the president and his aides have made his release a priority. so have his colleagues, one of

whom joins me know. thank you for joining us. today was the first time evan has been seen in public since march 30. a russian court upheld his detention and rejected jones' offer of $600,000 of bail for him to be put under house arrest. what was your reaction to today's hearing? >> it was obviously very disturbing to see evan in a glass cage just for doing his job, just for reporting. it is disturbing for the family. it is disturbing for all of his colleagues, and i think it should be disturbing to everyone at home to see a reporter put in that situation for merely doing his job. we were expecting this outcome, but nonetheless, we are disappointed.

we've come to expect from autocracies and russia included that there is disregard for a free press, and that was on display today. amna: have you been in touch with evan or his family directly since the hearing? how are they doing? >> we have a very robust team in place that is multifaceted and in touch with evan, and we retained lawyers for evan who are working under difficult circumstances. our team is in touch with evan's family. this is devastating to see a loved one treated like this. amna: evan stands accused of espionage. the conviction carries up to 20 years in prison. do you believe this is a legal fight?

>>m our focusi is on evant's release, and weretenber -- >> our focus is on evan's release. we will achieve that by any means possible, any means at our disposal. the legal process, we suspect, will play out, and we expect to work through every channel to make sure evan is released. amna: is this a weeks long, month-long or years long effort? >> we want this to end as quickly as possible. we think it is important for evan and his family, his colleagues, but also for a free press. the world is watching how the u.s. and western democracies respond to this kind of affront

to free press, and therefore, it is more important to get evan out quickly. the precedent is the last time a reporter was accused of espionage was during the cold war. autocracies have a bad track record, so we are prepared to do what it takes for as long as it takes, but we have our eyes on getting him home as quickly as possible. amna: russia has long not been a safe place for journalists. he was accredited to work there as a journalist. would you be advising other news organizations to pull their reporters. >> every news organization has to make their own judgments, as you know.

we've asked somek of our staff to return. the bottom line is it has become significantly more difficult to report from russia. it is more dangerous, clearly, that an accredited reporter can be picked up in a van, and weeks later we see him in a glass cage. those are unsafe circumstances, and it is a loss for the free world. it is a loss for the audience in the u.s. and policymakers. it is a tremendous loss for people in russia to understand what is actually happening in their society, with evan really focused on that, and there is a lot of misinformation that goes into that society.

amna: that is the publisher of the wall street journal and ceo of dow jones joining us tonight. thank you for your time. amna: more than 250,000 migrant children have entered the u.s. alone in the last two years. stephanie sy dives into a new investigation on the growing problem of child labor among migrant children. stephanie: we reported in february that an investigation exposed how thousands of migrant kids are working in jobs across the country in violation of child labor laws. the latest report revealed that the biden administration was made aware of the risks facing these children as the department of health and human services relaxed vetting procedures to move unaccompanied minors out of

overwhelmed shelters. hannah dreyer spent a year investigating this and joins me now. thanks for being with the newshour. you spoke to people in this latest piece that raised red flags that this was happening. who did they raise those concerns to? >> we found kids working in all 50 states, sometimes 12 or 13-year-olds, and i started asking, how is it that the biden administration didn't know about this when we are talking about tens of thousands of children? it turns out there were people in the administration, some in senior roles, who were trying to raise this. the administration was told about people in the field coming across children who said it they were being forced to work. people in the white house were told about clusters of children

working in meatpacking factories, car plants all around the country, and they were told there were these staffers out in the field or d.c. headquarters who were trying to send up a warning. somehow, these warnings were missed or ignored. > the white house denies, as far as i understand, these reports. you have some evidence that an official was aware of these reports, right? paul: this is susan rice, biden's top advisor for immigration. yes, members of the team say they were hearing these reports of, something is going wrong here or here. or the department of labor has found children, and not just one

or two children, but dozens of children working at plants in the midwest and around the country. what the white house has told us is that these were puzzle pieces they haven't put together. when i asked whistleblowers why they didn't put it together, what staffers say is they think they didn't want to know. > your report has generated criticism against the biden administration. here is senator josh hawley questioning homeland secretary alejandra mayorkas today. >> one 13-year-old forced to wash hotel sheets in virginia, kids running milkshake machines in vermont, delivering meals in new york city, scrubbing dishes, all in violation of our country's laws, all facilitated by your policies. are you proud of this record? >> senator, the exploitation of children is something that we do

not condone. you're incorrectly attributing it to our policies. one of the significant policy decisions that we have made is to focus our investigative efforts, criminal investigative efforts on unscrupulous employers who exploit individuals because of their vulnerabilities. >> which policies do you believe are most contributing to the expectation and harm of these children? >> this crisis is the result of policy failures on multiple levels. part of it has to do with labor enforcement, and the biden administration said it will get serious about enforcing child labor laws not only with manufacturers but the biggest brands that are profiting from the labor of these children. this is a child welfare and

immigration issue. one thing people point to is that no single agency is responsible for these children after they are released to sponsors. they are released, and most of them are really on their own. that is part of how we ended up in the situation. >> hannah dreyer, thank you so much. amna: there was more violence in israel today. police say a palestinian gunmen shot and killed israelis in jerusalem. israeli forces conducted another raid in the west bank. at least six palestinians were wounded according to officials. all of this comes as the israeli government's proposed judicial reforms have stalled. joining me to discuss what is happening on the ground and what

comes next is naftali bennett israel's former prime minister. those judicial reforms brought israelis into the streets en masse. prime minister netanyahu has hit pause but has not told of the plan. should he? >> in effect, he has. i can now openly declare that democracy in israel has prevailed. it is clear. it will take a while until everyone understands, but what israel got was a great gift for its 75th birthday. you are right that the prime minister explicitly has not said what needs to be cited, which is, we will progress on the reforms only in agreement, and we will not try to shut down the other side.

amna: this has led to increased tensions between the u.s. and israel. president biden has said that mr. netanyahu cannot continue down this path. >> i don't think netanyahu will continue to push unilaterally. between the coalition and opposition, i think netanyahu understands now that the only way forward is a big compromise. amna: i'd like to ask you about americans' views on israel. there was a recent gallup poll that showed democrats in the u.s. are more sympathetic to palestinians by a 15-point margin. that is a real reversal. seven years ago, sympathy was 30% greater for israelis. what do those numbers say to you?

> we need to do a better job of bringing the reality and beautiful reality, and complex reality of israel to american viewers. israel is not about the israeli-palestinian conflict. we are a democracy. flawed, imperfect, but we tried to do our very best to thrive and do good for everyone in israel, the jews and arabs in israel. amna: critics will say, how is this democracy? when you have 5 million palestinians with no voting rights or access to government, in a true democracy, wouldn't everyone have equal rights? >> palestinians do have access to democracy. they belong to the p. whicha has their. own elections. in gaza, there is a full-fledged hamas state. we handed over all of the land in gaza to the palestinians and pulled out all of the jews from

there, the army, went back to the 1966 lines -- amna: but under occupation in the west bank, palestinians do not have access to voting rights or government. >> they have voting rights for the posting authority and access to the government -- amna: but they live under military occupation of israeli forces. >> from a security standpoint, we have to defend ourselves, but barring that, it is full freedom. the huge majority of palestinians are governed by the palestinian authority, vote for the palestinian authority, pay them taxes, are subject to their rules of law. i admit that the p.a. is doing a lousy job and governing, and for example, they keep on postponing elections. amna: i will say that critics who watch the mistreatment and unequal treatment of palestinian and israeli citizens, some have written that because israel doesn't treat all citizens

equally, it does not have shared values with the u.s., and some argue washington should begin conditioning military and economic aid on specific measures to end military rule over palestine. what is your reaction to that? >> i think that would be a profound mistake. we do share common values. israel is a full-fledged democracy. we have about 2 million arabs citizens who vote for the same knesset that i vote for. arabs enjoy the full rights that any jew enjoys within israel. amna: i'm not asking about arabs or israeli citizens. i'm asking about the palestinians who are not israeli citizens. >> part of them belong to gaza and have their own failed state, and others belong to the p.a. who have their own failed government and entity. we keep trying again and again to provide them all of the freedoms, everything they need. we cannot make them succeed more than they want to. amna: we are speaking at a time

of accelerated tensions and increased violence in israel. would halting those settlement expansions help to bring down the temperature? >> i want to be very clear -- israel does not evict anyone from their home unless they are illegally there, and we evict jews and arabs alike. amna: illegal by whose determination? we have had families evicted from properties they've occupied for generations. >> we have a supreme court, which is respected across the supreme court tells you you have to evicted because it is illegal, or you don't need to, regardless if it is jews or arabs.

amna: saudi arabia has been issuing multiple statements condemning israeli actions in recent months. saudi is calling israel an occupation government again. how can israel improve relations with saudi arabia and arab neighbors in general if the settlements continue and violence escalates? >> i think the saudi's look at the region and view israel as a potential partner to fend off the big threat of the region, which is iran. amna: but they have begun to normalize relations with iran. >> because they sense there is a degree of vacuum in the region, and they are hedging, but if they see that israel continues the correct policy that i enacted of fighting iran back on its territory, as opposed to waiting for it to hit us in our homes, whether israel or any arab country.

i think that will garner more respect, and we will be able to make progress with the saudi's. amna: former israeli prime minister naftali bennett joining us, thank you for being here. >> thank you, amna. geoff: there is a lot more online at pbs.org/newshour, including a story about why state lawmakers in missouri are pushing to defund public libraries amid nationwide calls from some conservatives to ban books. amna: join us tomorrow night when we will speak with representative katherine clark, the second highest democrat in the house. that is the newshour for tonight. i am not know vase. geoff: i am geoff bennett. have a great evening. announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life.

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♪ christiane: hello everyone and welcome to "amanpour & company". >> i think we were all privileged to be where we were when we were. and privileged to do our part to get this done. chstiane: a historical union to celebrate a historic peace agreement. mike's interview with the peacemakers. u.s. president bill clinton, british prime minister tony blair, and the irish tea shop. >> i children have never grown up in a normal society. christiane: why the people chose peace. from the archive, my report on the families who decided a quarter-century ago. >>