You should take any New York times article on Netanyahu with the same grain of salt as any New York Times on Trump. I.e., they hate both men and when not outright lying, are giving the worst possible spin.
Two points though, first the NY Times article supports that it was NOT just about splitting the PA.
“Allowing the payments — billions of dollars over roughly a decade — was a gamble by Mr. Netanyahu that a steady flow of money would maintain peace in Gaza, the eventual launching point of the Oct. 7 attacks, and keep Hamas focused on governing, not fighting.”
Second, the claim that Netanyahu’s goal was a counterbalance to the PA is poorly sourced: one extreme leftist journalist makes the claim. There is no good sourcing on this.
Bottom line is it may or may not be true, it is poorly sourced, and even if it is true, it wasn’t the primary or only reason it happened.
64 sources on Wikipedia so you can check them out since like you said you have a good reason not to trust NYT.