speaking on the 2008–2009 israel–gaza conflict cardinal martino said that "defenseless populations are always the ones who pay. look at the conditions in gaza: more and more, it resembles a big concentration camp." he called for peace talks: "if they can't come to an agreement, then someone else should do it (for them). the world cannot sit back and watch without doing anything. we christians are not the only ones to call this land 'holy', jews and muslims do so too. the fact that this land is the scene of bloodshed seems a great tragedy." when the israeli foreign ministry objected to the use of the phrase "concentration camp", vatican officials distanced themselves from martino's remarks. elaborating on his remarks, he said: "i say that the conditions people are living in there should be looked at: surrounded by a wall that is difficult to cross, in conditions contrary to human dignity. what is happening during these days is horrible. but when i speak, may people take into account the whole of what i say." he said both sides are "guilty" and that it is "necessary to separate them, like two fighting siblings" and make them "sit down to negotiate".