The Netanyahu family will spend over £27,000 of Israeli taxpayers' money this year on basic groceries, it has emerged.

The figure does not include catering for foreign dignitaries, restaurant deliveries or ice cream - which are paid for from another budget.

According to a new document published on the website of the "government procurement administration", the Prime Minister's private residence has been allocated NIS 160,000 (£27,500) for food for the coming year.

The average Israeli family spends just over £4,700 a year on groceries, according to government statistics.

Also in the budget document, NIS 140,000 (just over £24,000) was earmarked for the Prime Minister's Office. The amount covers food for daily government meetings and cabinet sessions.

This is not the first time that Prime Minister Netanyahu's apparently vast personal expenses have come under scrutiny.

Last year, Mr Netanyahu was heavily criticised for spending NIS 450,000 (£77,000) of taxpayers' money to customise an El Al plane with a double bed for his four-hour flight to London to attend Margaret Thatcher's funeral.

Prior to that, the Netanyahu family also came under fire for maintaining a special NIS 10,000 budget (£1,700) just for a particular brand of ice cream.