Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas commented on Monday evening for the first time about the Shin Bet’s announcement that it thwarted a Hamas plan to carry out a coup in Judea and Samaria.

Abbas told Palestinian media that the implications of the plot “will be serious for the Palestinian and regional situation, especially after Israeli officials published a list and pictures of confiscated weapons.”

Regarding the unity agreement with Hamas, Abbas said that the revealed plot has endangered the unity of the Palestinian people.

“We are living in the shadow of the war in Gaza and under the shadow of the presence of a unity government, which is why this new information is a real danger to the unity of the Palestinian people and its future,” he said.

The Shin Bet revealed this week that Hamas leaders in Turkey recruited local Palestinians across Judea and Samaria to carry out a series of terror attacks against Israel and overthrow Abbas in an effort to create regional instability.

Between May and June, 93 Hamas operatives were arrested by the Shin Bet. Funding worth over $170,000 and dozens of weapons, including assault rifles, handguns and rocket launchers, were seized.

The terror network was aided by couriers from Jordan who smuggled funds worth over 2 million NIS into Judea and Samaria. The funds were used to purchase weapons and establish hideouts.

“The discovery of the infrastructure attests to the great danger posed by Hamas’ headquarters abroad given its strategic plan to collapse the Palestinian Authority,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.

“Khaled Mashal [political leader of Hamas] was aware of this and the Turkish government knew about the operations emanating from its territory. The PA’s security forces received updates about the investigation. Hamas’ plan was the same as its seizure of the Strip in 2007.”