At one point on the tape, Netanyahu threatens a "broad attack" against the Palestinian Authority.

"The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne," Netanyahu said. "A broad attack on the Palestinian Authority."

The tape was shot during the early stages of the second intifada, when violence between Israelis and Palestinians was escalating. Netanyahu was speaking with settlers who lost family members to Palestinian attacks.

Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, had recently deployed additional Israeli troops in the West Bank.

Undermining the Oslo Accords

Netanyahu - who did not hold political office when the recording was made - was dismissive of the United States, calling it easily manipulated.

"I know what America is," Netanyahu said. "America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way."