A new law proposed by Kulanu MK Merav Ben Ari would reduce or eliminate child support if the parents split custody of the children equally.
According to a Channel 20 report, the proposed law would apply in cases where the parents earn an equal amount, or the mother earns more than the father, and children spend an equal amount of time with both parents.
The new law must still pass a second and third reading before being approved.
"There are courts which do not wait for legislation, and are already deciding on these matters," Ben Ari said. "This is a matter which pertains to all parents who share custody of children over the age of six. The goal is to ease the burden on men and split the financial burden in an equal and fair way between both parents."
Currently, Israeli fathers pay the second-highest amount in child support in the OECD, with fathers paying an average of $500 (1790 NIS) per child. Since the average salary is between 8000-9000 NIS ($2,240-2,518), a father of three with joint custody may end up paying as much as 6000 NIS ($1,678) in child support, leaving himself with only 3000 NIS ($840) for his own living expenses.
Israel's Supreme Court ruled in July that parents of children ages 6 to 15 will need to pay mutual child support in accordance with each parent's financial status.