Generalitat has given away over €8.4M to the NGO UNRWA, which is suspected of terrorism.

Salvador Illa's government has announced this week an increase in the contribution for grants for cooperation projects. The Generalitat will allocate $8.8 million (8 million euros) more to development aid for third countries. Together with the $26.4 million (24 million euros) that were allocated to these projects, the total amounts to $35.2 million (32 million euros).

Additionally, the Department of Foreign Action has announced an extra $880,000 (800,000 euros) for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). With this, more than $9.2 million (8.4 million euros) have already been spent on this NGO.

The Generalitat continues to fund UNRWA despite suspicions of its links to the terrorist organization Hamas. In fact, Catalonia is going against the rest of Western countries. Many countries, such as the US and Germany, have suspended aid to this organization until the suspicions are clarified.

In Catalonia, this caused a heated debate because parties such as Aliança Catalana and Vox called for suspending aid to this organization. Even Junts joined the criticism over the funding of UNRWA. The government and its partners have reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation, accusing others of being far-right.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Generalitat, Jaume Duch, has defended the increase in the contribution to this NGO. "Unfortunately, there are more wars in the world and some conflicts as serious as the one in the Gaza Strip. That's why the government of the Generalitat must make an extra effort," he said.

Outrage in Catalonia

However, his words haven't convinced anyone. Social media have exploded with countless messages from Catalans tired of paying taxes for the Generalitat to waste money in this way. The messages reveal the exhaustion and latent outrage in this regard.

"Catalanets always saving the world while our own services are a mess," says one comment. "Go away, stop giving away Catalans' money," says another. "Thieves," or "it's a never-ending giveaway of money," are other messages that show the outrage of many Catalans.

An outraged Catalan says, "My 82-year-old mother can't get a CT scan after a fall, and you're giving away my money." "Catalonia falling apart, and you're giving away the money," says another. "Funding terrorist organizations should be a crime," they state.

Continuist line

In this case, Salvador Illa is clearly a continuator of the previous ERC and Pere Aragonès government. Aragonès generously increased the Foreign Action budget, focusing both on cooperation and on funding Catalan embassies. One of ERC's conditions for Salvador Illa's investiture was precisely to shield this department.

Illa's government keeps its commitment to cooperation to please its republican partners, but also as a strategy against the opposition. The socialists want to present themselves as the wall against the far right. Cooperation is a battleground in this regard.