Netanyahu's son brags about gas deal in 'strip club' tape

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's son has been caught on tape bragging about a natural gas deal organised by his father while seemingly drunk.

The audio recording was aired by Israel's Channel 2 television late on Monday and Yair Netanyahu can be heard speaking with the son of Kobi Maimon, a stakeholder in a company that owns a share in Israel's offshore Tamar gas field.

Their conversation includes talk of strippers and prostitutes.

"My dad arranged $20 billion for your dad - you can give me 400 shekels ($116)," he says.

Yair Netanyahu issued a statement apologising and saying he was only joking about the gas deal while "under the influence of alcohol".

"These statements do not represent who I am nor the values on which I was raised," he said.

"Regarding what I said about the gas deal, it was a joke. Anyone with a bit of common sense understands that right way."

The recording is said to be from 2015, a time when Binyamin Netanyahu faced a difficult political battle over Israel's natural gas arrangements with opponents saying they overly favoured the companies involved.

Labour party leader Avi Gabbay said the recording was a "new stain on the corrupt gas deal."

There was also criticism over Yair Netanyahu's security arrangements. A security guard employed by the state purportedly accompanied Yair Netanyahu to the strip club.

Netanyahu's office said it "is not consulted on protection arrangements for his children decided upon by the security services."

The Netanyahus in a statement denounced the broadcast of the recording, saying it was part of a "witch-hunt against the family that has reached an unprecedented low."

"Apparently, everything is fair game to attack the Netanyahu government and family, including using a secret and illegal recording of young men drinking alcohol." 

Last year Yair Netanyahu came under fire for posting an allegedly anti-Semitic caricature online aimed at his father's left-wing critics.

The meme showed American-Jewish billionaire George Soros and an allegedly anti-Semitic depiction of a figure influencing former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and two Israeli leaders of weekly anti-government protests.

The post was shared by former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader David Duke and others who have made anti-Semitic claims that leading Jewish figures are seeking to control the world.