Mr Goodlass said he had thought of peace volunteering for several years, but work and then council responsibilities came first.

Like the aspirations of many, day-to-day realities took over, but then the time came when he finally had the days to do what he wanted.

He has never shied away from a big project or wearing his political colours on his sleeve, so once he was fully retired Mr Goodlass decided to make peace activism his major project.

"I went online to find volunteering opportunities and there were hundreds, many about helping to rebuild civic society in post conflict situations," he said. "But me, being resolved to find the most intractable ongoing conflict I could find, settled on Israel and Palestine."

Mr Goodlass said he settled on the plight of the Palestinians as the focus of his activism.

"The peace projects suited my personal political beliefs," he said. "It was definitely outside the comfort zone from being a cultural tourist to Europe or a family tourist to the UK."

Mr Goodlass set off on his eighth trip to the conflict zone on Wednesday.

"I've learnt in my older age that when something comes up, don't dither about," he said.

His work in 2014 included cleaning out a house in Bethlehem shelled by the Israelis and clearing the land of a Bethlehem olive farmer whose property was surrounded by Israeli settlers who threatened to take over his land if he left it unoccupied. It has not always been smooth sailing.

At one point Mr Goodlass found himself being attacked by Israel Defence Forces soldiers using tear gas.

The attack occurred on March 21, 2014, in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah, which also saw Palestinian villagers injured when rubber bullets were fired upon them.

The IDF's actions saw Mr Goodlass rendered "totally helpless".

"I was tear gas attacked by Israel army in West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, rendered helplessly, rescued by Freedom Bus friends," he tweeted on the day.

The event didn't scare him off however as he continued to make the trek each year.

"I started to do drama work with the kids," Mr Goodlass said. "I would play non-verbal games with them, but I decided I needed to learn Arabic."

Mr Goodlass defines the Arabic word 'sumud' as resilience and steadfastness, adding it was a common trait among those he met every trip.

In 2018, a film-maker decided to document Mr Goodlass' work. In the film, young people in the Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem, dramatise their stories of living under the continuing Israeli occupation.

"In my seventh annual volunteer visit to Palestine I devised and directed verbatim stories by a group of young actors in the Alrowwad Culture Centre," he said.

"Some of the stories include detail of how the students' families were driven from their homes by the invading Israelis in 1947 and 1948 and all show what life is like living under the continuing Israeli occupation.

"This hour-long film also features interviews with several of the actors, the director of Alrowwad, and depicts everyday life in the camp, which has been in existence since 1948."

What he has taken away from his experience was a better understanding of the conflict and its impact on the Palestinian people, which he now wants to share with Wagga.

"What the Israelis are doing is taking away the memories, culture and history of the Palestinian people," Mr Goodlass said.

"The most frightening thing is how the original refugee tents turned into concrete houses, giving a sense of permanence to their situation. It made you think there was almost no hope for these people and feel the sense of hopelessness that exists."

Mr Goodlass said the hospitality and the resilience of the Palestinian people continues to inspire him.

"On my first trip, a man asked us volunteers to be an ambassador for Palestine," he said. "That's what I am doing and will continue to do."

Their resilience is why Mr Goodlass ended the stage production by giving the father character the line "but we are resilient people and celebrate our culture".

"Then the lighting changed, the music came up, and the cast all went into their traditional dance, the dabka," he said.