Israel blasts pope aide for concentration camp jibe

VATICAN CITY Jan 8 (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday condemned a senior aide to Pope Benedict for comparing Gaza to a concentration camp, expressing shock that a man of religion was using "the vocabulary of Hamas propaganda".

"We are astounded to hear from a spiritual dignitary words that are so far removed from truth and dignity," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Reuters by phone from Israel.

On Wednesday, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, delivered the Vatican's toughest criticism of Israel since the latest Middle East crisis began, calling Gaza a "big concentration camp".

Palmor said: "The vocabulary of Hamas propaganda, coming from a member of the College of Cardinals, is a shocking and disappointing phenomenon." (Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

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