Israel's embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a fresh scandal after a recording emerged of his 26-year-old son joyriding at taxpayer expense to Tel Aviv strip clubs, and bragging about how his father pushed through a controversial gas deal.

Key points: Recording features Netanyahu's son bragging about controversial gas deal and making disparaging remarks about women

Recording features Netanyahu's son bragging about controversial gas deal and making disparaging remarks about women Yair Netanyahu heard saying the PM helped an Israeli tycoon earn $25.5b by pushing a deal through parliament

Yair Netanyahu heard saying the PM helped an Israeli tycoon earn $25.5b by pushing a deal through parliament Israeli PM rejects any connection to tycoon, says his son was raised to respect all women

The 2015 recording, aired on Monday night on Israel's top-rated news broadcast, sparked public outrage over its misogynistic content and raised questions over why a state-funded bodyguard and driver needed to accompany Yair Netanyahu and his friends on the trip.

The often combative Yair Netanyahu issued a quick apology, saying the remarks did not represent the values he was raised on and were made under the influence of alcohol.

But the fallout was swift.

A pair of opposition MPs appealed to the Attorney-General to investigate the younger Netanyahu's security needs, saying it was "disgraceful that public funds fuel a culture of women's exploitation".

Others piled on.

"Even big kids say what they hear at home," said Eitan Cabel of the opposition Labor Party.

References to gas deal, prostitutes

In the recording, Yair Netanyahu and his friends recount their night out on the town and make disparaging comments about strippers, waitresses and other women, including one of Yair Netanyahu's former girlfriends.

He is also heard drunkenly bragging to the son of an Israeli oil tycoon about how the Prime Minister advanced a bill in parliament that the younger Netanyahu appeared to believe delivered billions of dollars to his friend's father.

The boasts are an embarrassment for Benjamin Netanyahu, who stands accused of accepting a fortune's worth of cigars and champagne from rich supporters.

At one point, Yair Netanyahu cryptically refers to 400 shekels (about $148) paid to a prostitute.

"Speaking of prostitutes, what's open at this hour?" he asks his friends, before they settle on a well-known bistro.

"It's possible the waitresses there go with the flow."

One of his buddies, Roman Abramov, even jokes that the security guard, who was privy to the banter, would have to be killed if he ever left his job so the conversation would not leak.

Most of the public outcry, however, involved the younger Netanyahu's comments to the son of Israeli tycoon Kobi Maimon about the gas deal.

My dad arranged $US20 billion ($25.5 billion) for your dad, and you're whining with me about 400 shekels," he said.

Adding to the public anger was the fact that the salacious outing took place on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath — and was aired just as Benjamin Netanyahu's Government was passing unpopular legislation to curb business on the Sabbath under pressure from ultra-Orthodox Jewish coalition partners.

The Prime Minister, who has repeatedly attacked the media as his legal troubles have mounted, issued a typical response after the recordings were released, calling them the height of a media-orchestrated witch hunt aimed at ousting him and saying the press had stooped to unprecedented "persecution, bloodletting and shaming".

"We have no intention of addressing the cheap and malicious gossip regarding snippets of jokes that were made after a night of drinking that don't reflect Yair's positions and were taken out of context from an illegal and tendentious wiretap," a statement from the family said.

But on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu softened his rhetoric, saying that his son's comments were the result of alcohol consumption and that he was raised to respect women.

Another scandal for PM's family

The Netanyahu family's perceived hedonism and sense of entitlement has landed them in trouble before, with repeated inquiries into their conduct.

Israeli police say the Prime Minister is suspected of fraud, breach of trust and bribes in a pair of cases.

One involves reportedly more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor that Mr Netanyahu and his wife Sara received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who is said to have asked Mr Netanyahu to press then US secretary of state John Kerry in a visa matter.

Yair Netanyahu has also repeatedly drawn criticism for living a life of privilege at taxpayers' expense, hobnobbing with ultra-rich donors and making crude social media posts, all while never holding down a job.

Australian billionaire James Packer has reportedly lavished the younger Netanyahu with gifts including extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer's former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Mr Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

Israel's Channel 2 News, which broke the story of the latest scandal on Monday, said Yair Netanyahu ended the evening with his friends by staying at Mr Packer's luxury residence in Tel Aviv.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 9 minutes 35 seconds 9 m James Packer reportedly gave lavish gifts to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family.

In further comments, Mr Netanyahu said he had no connection to Mr Maimon and was unaware of their sons' friendship.

He added that his son had no knowledge of the gas deal and that his own backing of expanded natural gas extraction did nothing to benefit Mr Maimon.

Mr Netanyahu also accused a disgruntled driver in the Prime Minister's office of making the illicit recording and attempting to sell it for a profit — and demanded that Channel 2 disclose how much it paid for it.

AP