>> a day after his resolution was rejected palestinian president signs a treaty to join the international criminal court. >> hello there you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. a suicide-bomber attacks a shia rebel gathering in the city of ib killing more than 30. abandoned at sea italy rescues almost 1,000 migrants left adrift by smugglers in the mediterranean. some victims of aaron flight

return home, but there were hampered efforts to recover the wreck. [music] >> and asia welcomes in the new year with fireworks from hong kong and pyongyang. >> hello palestinian president mahmood abbas signed a treaty to join the international criminal court. more than 20 international treaties he has signed. it will allow the prosecution of israeli officials and their actions in the palestinian territories. they territories. territoryies. it follows the rejection of the palestinian resolution calling for an end of the israeli occupation of its

territoryies by 2017. >> the veto yesterday is not the first veto. it won't be the last veto. but we have our rights. rights are not to be given. rights are to be taken. and we have to work hard to get and take our rights. >> despite the u.n. set back on tuesday president mahmood abbas has been celebrating. a procession was held to mark the 50th anniversary of fatah being established. we're live from ramallah. tell us more about the signing of the treaty.

>> well, a very angry response from israel. we have the statement from president benjamin netanyahu, a threat warning the palestinians that they have more to fear from the international court than the israelis do, suggesting if the palestinians issue war crimes from israel, they'll pursue war crimes against the palestinians, including hamas. one would imagine that we would also hear more from the israelis as the days and hours progress. in the past the israelis have always said any suggestion of going to the international criminal court was just a way for the palestinians to by pass the only real solution in this their view is the negotiated settlement. but more to the point we also heard over the years the israelis warning the palestinians that if they did go to the icc that they would impose sanctions on the palestinian leadership. this is a warning that has been

echoed by the united states as well. that if the palestinians did go to the icc join that court that they too would impose economic sanctions. we only have to remember the fact that the palestinian leadership is funded largely from foreign donations. so to lose that money would weaken the palestinian authority. >> of course, it does put hamas at risk for being prosecuted for war crimes? >> absolutely. but the other faction the main faction, hamas has come out with a brief statement welcoming the move by president abbas which starts the ball rolling if you will, for the palestinians to join the icc. again, as we said they welcomed the move. this is something that they're

supporting. it would appear for now all palestinian factions are supportive of this move by president abbas. that is in sharp contrast to the decision by president abbas to approach the u.n. security council less than 24 hours ago. that is as we've been reporting resulted effectively in a failure they didn't secure the votes that they needed. and although it was only ever going to be a symbolic win if they did get the votes they needed because of the u.s. veto, it was something that the palestinians were hoping to achieve. as we've been saying they decided to take a much bolder step signing the rome statute. but where that will lead eventually is a bit harder to predict, given the strong responses we're expecting from both israel and the united states. >> thanks very much, indeed. james bays joins me now in the studio. tell us why president abbas felt

now was the time to sign it. >> he had invested everybody in the security council bid. all of the attention had been on that for more than four months, and then it failed. he's now done something that he had been talking about for literally years. this is something that is going to proceed. we have the israelis in the news every single day but this is a game changer probably the most important event since the gaza war this summer. >> it does not mean that he'll start some case against israel. he can hold back on that. >> let me try to explain. it's quite complicated when you read the rome statute. let me explain how it works. now that he has signed this, he gives it to the depository, u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon. he'll then take hold of the

treaty that has been signed, and decide whether to accept it or not. we know that. accept it because he knows the will of the u.n. general assembly. if there is any doubt about it, he'll put it to a vote. then the statute says that there is a 60-day period before this comes in to force. if ban ki-moon acts quickly this could come into force on the first of march. that would make the territory of palestinian a question mark of what that is, it would be subject to the rule of international criminal court. that doesn't though, start an investigation. that is the next stage someone has to ask for the investigation. there are only three ways that could happen. the u.n. security council could refer it. that's not going to use it. and so really only two routes. one of the routes is the chief prosecutor of the icc launches their own investigation or the palestinians request an

investigation. there is really one more card that president abbas has up his sleeve. >> thank you for shaneing that to us. thank you. well, 30 people have been killed in a suicide-bombing in yemen. it happened in the city of ib. explosions and gunfire were also reported near the city's main hospital. >> leaving dozens of people dead. bodies scattered all over. it was a gathering of shia houthies to celebrate of birth of prophet muhammad. some survivors were rushed to hospital. this attack is one of the strongest against the houthies since they took over the city of ibb in november. >> what happened today was a

terrorist attack carried out by tearist groups. >> the group's military and political power is rising. they started in july. they swept through sanaa unapposed. now they control nine provinces. sanaa was toppled in 2010 but he still has influence over military and tribal connections. the houthies are facing tough times, too. al-qaeda and some trains wage a war to weaken the group. but the group remains undeterred. they signed an u.n.-backed peace deal with the government in september to withdraw and

disarm. that never happened. now their loyalists are appointed in security and government positions. there are plans to integrate their government forces. they have plans to recruit thousands more in the army, but critics warn this is the beginning of building a state within a state with the howes in charge. al jazeera sanaa. >> the police say in iraq 12 soldiers have within killed in an attack by isil fighters south of fallujah. at least seven people are thought to have been injured. the families of a teenage girl in syria is accusing the

they are forcing her to be a soldier. >> she should be home helping to care for her disabled mother. instead kurdish forces kidnapped her, and now she is a soldiers. protesters walk through the streets of her town in northeastern syria calling the forces criminals and demanding the teenageer's freedom. the kurds deny snatching her. >> reporter: they have banned recruiting children under the age of 18, but children are still finding their way to the battlefield. >> i was hit by a fighter bomber on my first day. i'm used to it now. no more fear. >> human rights watch says all opposition groups in syria are aggressively recruiting minors in violation of international law, and they need to stop sending children to the front

lines. >> i started fighting when i was 13 or 14, and i'm still carrying on. >> a spokesman with kurdish forces tell al jazeera that they face great resistence when they prohibited children from fighting. loyalty to their kurdish cause and lack of opportunities have inspired young people to serve. but this battle-awarey-weary teenageer is wants a normal life. >> a cargo ship carrying a thousand migrants has been brought into to port byy the italian coast guard. it are'ed by people theymore than 60,000 my grand

tried to cross to europe. but in 2014 that number jumped almost three times to 167,462. the united nations refugee agency said that the number who have died has jumped to 3,000 in in 2014. >> the cargo vessel was rescued in the early hours. on board they found 970 desperate migrants, mostly from syria and iraq, but no sign of the crew. the ship left the turkish port six days ago. and after three days of terrible weather it was apparently left on its own bound for the italian coast. the migrants locked in the hull.

the italian navy brought the ship in to the port with migrants including women and children, brought to shore. the migrants are now being processed in the center by italian authorities who are overstretched at the sheer scale of this latest migrant incident. most of these people are from syria and iraq. they all speak of the terrible conditions they've endured on board this cargo ship. some were on board for nine days. and the journey cost anywhere between $6,000 to $9,000 for each person. scared of showing their faces they paint a grim time on board. >> they give you every--they may be just like that, bread you know and nothing. >> no water. >> no water.

just whet, nothing. >> from aleppo in syria. >> it was a very bad trip because the ship was very old and very--very dirty and very noisy. i can't tell you what the roof, when the rain broke broke in, the roof dropped on the ship, and the floor--water. there is no toilet no, nothing. >> later the migrants will be passed to holding centers big enough to deal with the numbers involved. italian authorities say they picked up more than 2,000 migrants in their waters in the last ten days alone. all part of the ongoing traffic

of dress pate desperate people. >> bad weather is hampering efforts to tow back the ferry that caught on fire. this footage shows people waiting to be rescued. the ferry continued to burn below, 98 people are still unaccounted for. the italian captain of the greek-operated ferry has been questioned. still to come in this half hour. nato officially ends its combat mission in afghanistan we take a look at what it has achieved. new year, new driving laws. now the state of california has planned a big overhall, which will be good news for undocumented immigrants.

>> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> a reminder of the top stories here. the u.s. strongly condemns the palestinian president decision to sign a treaty to join the international criminal court. it follows the defeat of a palestinian resolution for y. u.n. security council. shia houthies are locked in a power struggle with its president. and a cargo ship carrying a

thousand migrants has been brought in to port by the italian coast guard. it was abandoned in rough seas by people smugglers. >> the search has been hampered by bad weather. >> they were welcomed by somber military ceremony, the first two bodies of the victims of the airasia crash of december 28th. bad weather and long wait has been hampering the search for bodies south of borneo. >> the transport of the bodies from the ship to the mainland is very difficult. that's why the ship has come to the harbor, which is a much more time-consuming process than

evacuating them by helicopter. >> a very tragic moment. three days after they had departed for singapore their bodies have returned here. many more have yet to be recovered. the bodies will be brought to the police hospitals for identification, but relatives have supplied data and dna records to help with the identification process. out of respect for the victims and their relatives the government has asked to tone down new year's eve celebrations. >> in east java all new year's festivities are canceled, and we will pray instead. we'll pray for the spirit of the victims so they can rest in peace, and for those left behind so they can accept this terrible loss. [♪ singing ♪] >> relatives of the victims have held their own ceremony at the airport. some still hoping for a miracle. prayers also for better weather

conditions at the crash site. for the recovery process can be speeded up in the next few days, and the victims can be reunited with their grieving families. al jazeera. >> three al jazeera journalists have been imprisoned in egypt for more than a year, 368 days to be pre-citizen. our colleagues mohamed fahmy bader mohammed, and peter greste were arrests. they were falsely accused and convicted of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. with their appeal is due to start on thursday. in afghanistan signaling the end of nato's combat mission there. it was the military pack longest and largest deployment. the small force around 13,000 soldiers will stay on to support the afghan army. after all these years and nearly 1 trillion-dollar spent what has been achieveed?

jennifer glass takes a look. >> in 2007 the province was filled with taliban fighters. nato had already been in the country six years fledgling national afghan army joined the patrols. >> another part of the nato mix is to get rid of opium poppy crops. now it is bigger than ever and employs more afghans than the security forces. training the afghan military and police became the focus for nato in 2010. while there is more than 370,000 security forces they are struggling against a resurgent taliban. this has been a costly war on

both sides. the united nations has only been keeping track since 2008 but since then more than 9,600 afghan civilians have died, and for afghan forces this is the worse year yet 13 policemen and soldiers die every day. one of the biggest killers is improviseed explosive devices i.e.d.s. they make it hard to fight against them. >> we don't have enough to get rid of the ieds or the equipment to give us early warning but still we're doing better. the suicide attacks, the ieds these things have been used against us. >> this week nato marks an end of its combat mission but the taliban says that the fighting is not over.

>> this war will continue until america and the west completely leaves afghanistan changing the name or a title is not important for us as long as the foreign forces are in our country we will continue fighting. >> and the afghans bear the brunt of at a fighting. a doctor who treats hundreds a year say not only do the security forces need more training, many of the police are heroin users. >> they're addicted, as we can see. more than 50% of the police are addicted. how can we say that they will take care of the future. >> this year the taliban has taken large parts of the countryside across afghanistan and alqaida is reestablishing its training camps in the east. nato's combat role may be ending but it's mission is far from accomplished. jennifer glasse kabul. >> the concern attack targeted a

vehicle carrying the leader of the al-shabab. allowing church services to take place the curfew was part of the state emergency put in place to help stop the spread of ebola. the virus has killed 8,000 people almost all of them in liberia, guinea and sierra leone. the u.n. security council has-- >> now the new year means new laws across the world 2015

brings with it fresh legislation. there are 930 new laws in the state of california alone. as rob reynolds reports one of them will have major impact on the lives of undocumented immigrants. >> living and working in california's cities it's difficult to get by without a car. but drivers among the estimated 2 million undocumented immigrants living in california are often wary of getting a driver's license for fear of showing up on government radar and risk of being deported for living in the u.s. illegally. >> once they find out that they have to show proof of status, and that they're here illegally they'll just drive without knowing the rules of the road. >> now a new state law allows california undocumented residents to get a license after taking the standard driving test. the law includes a guarantee

that california law enforcement agencies will not report undocumented drivers to federal immigration authorities in case of a traffic stop. at the center of human rights legal aid in los angeles advocates are preparing to help thousands of people to take their driver's license test. >> our people are very excited because they've been waiting for this for more than 20 years here in california. >> offices of state department of motor vehicles are bustling. california is the tenth u.s. state to legalize driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. it is an especially important move because california has more undocumented immigrants than any other state. other states with large immigrant populations like arizona prohibit undocumented residents from getting licenses. california police agencies say the new law will prevent accidents and save lives.

>> we hope that people will get out there and get their driver's license, get educated to the rules of the road, and that in turn will make them safe behind the wheel knowing that now i'm driving legally i have less to worry about being pulled over by the police. >> that likely means all californians will have a safer new year. rob reynolds, al jazeera, los angeles. >> well, it is still 2014 here in london, but around the world the new year has been welcomed in with the usual spectacular fireworks displace. [ cheering ] >> as glorious fireworks launch in new zealand. two hours later across the syd know harbor, celebrating the new year. >> hong kong harbor was aplays with color as china welcomed in

in 2015. celebrations were captured on a sea of mobile phones. >> reminder you can always catch up with the latest news and sports. the address is www.aljazeera.com. >> we're in the mexican state of veracruz, one of the most violent areas in the country. this is el diamante ranch - it is here where the remains of 31 people were found a month ago. the bodies were dumped in a mass grave just below this house. those who were killed are believed to have been held here after they were kidnapped. only a few of the bodies have been identified.