Not recognising Israel is antisemitic, the Pope has reportedly stated.

Henrique Cymerman, a Portuguese journalist based in Tel Aviv, tweeted: "In an email we got from Pope Francis: 'Whoever does not recognise the Jewish People and the State of Israel falls in antisemitism.'"

The email to Mr Cymerman comes less than a month after the Pope sparked a furore by lavishing a compliment on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He was widely reported to have called Mr Abbas an "angel of peace" during a meeting at the Vatican. News agencies subsequently modified the quote to "a bit of an angel of peace".

Observers are viewing the Pope's latest comment as an attempt to show balance on the issue.

The Pope made an "absolutely remarkable statement", according to Jeffrey Woolf, a theology expert at Bar Ilan University. He said: "It marks an emphatic divergence from traditional Catholic theological position that Jewish national aspirations were superseded by the coming of Jesus."