A Dublin man who took part in last year's Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza said he plans to take part in another flotilla this year and that preparations are already under way for it.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail for Israel October last, consisted of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 people, among them parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
Colm Byrne said it is hoped that this year's flotilla will be double the size with around 100 boats, compared to last year's flotilla of 44 boats.
The aim this year will be to try to make land, he told RTÉ's This Week programme, "whereas last year our plan wasn't to land because of safety issues".
He said that he has spent the last three weeks in Spain preparing for the flotilla.
Listen: Dubliner Colm Byrne and the next Gaza Flotilla
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"Currently we are buying boats and getting them ready," he said, adding that all the money is being raised through fundraising.
Mr Byrne said he hopes that there will be medical practitioners onboard the vessels this year, along with legal experts and eco builders.
Mr Byrne said the flotilla is bringing more than aid, and it is also bringing hope and raising awareness.
"Being honest, our aid was taken on the last flotilla but I was told 1.6 billion people were actually following us at some point during the last flotilla; that's 20% of the global population - that's huge.
"People want us to succeed because they see a dire situation... a lot of people feel their governments are not supporting and are possibly complicit in the crimes against the Palestinian people," he said.
Mr Byrne said people are determined to take part in the next flotilla in order to bring hope and to complete unfinished business.
"We can never stop talking about Palestine until they are treated correctly, until they're treated with respect," he said.
"We're going because we have to go. We're going because nothing has changed, 500 people have been killed since the ceasefire. Countless people have been injured - more amputees. We can't leave this. The Palestinian people deserve it."
Mr Byrne said the boat he travelled on last year was eventually boarded in international waters by Israeli commandos who, he said, treated them "all right".
"However, the problems began when we were brought to shore and Israeli police got involved," he said, adding that they were "treated dismally".
"We had our hands tied behind our backs with cable ties," he said.
"We were made to sit on the asphalt for anything between, I would say, six to ten hours. Absolutely degraded, people shouting in your face."
