GENEVA, Switzerland - The World Health Organization's top decision-making body voted Friday to grant Palestinians additional rights, echoing a similar decision this month by the United Nations General Assembly.Countries gathered for this week's World Health Assembly, the annual gathering in Geneva of the WHO's 194 member states, overwhelmingly approved a draft resolution on "aligning the participation of Palestine" in the WHO with its participation in the United Nations.
At the WHA in Geneva, Palestinian officials and their backers did not attempt to ask for full membership.Several diplomatic sources suggested that was due to concern that a vote for Palestinian membership would trigger an automatic suspension of US funding to the WHO.The text approved Friday instead handed the Palestinians, among other things, "the right to be seated among member states... the right to submit proposals and amendments...