The following is the full text of the resignation letter submitted by PM Hanieh to President Abbas yesterday:

"Mr. President Abu Mazen, may God protect him, Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and President of the PNA, Peace be upon you,

I am pleased to express to you my gratitude and the gratitude of the government for your trust and confidence in us in forming the tenth government which preserved the rights and the higher interests of the Palestinian people; despite the difficulty conditions and the oppressive siege and based on the Mecca Agreement that was signed between Fatah and Hamas Movements under the patronage of King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz, the King of Saudi Arabia, on February 8, 2007 – Muharram 21, 1428 Hijri – which stipulated the formation of the next Palestinian government "the national unity government", and in my capacity as the current PM of the tenth Palestinian government, I submit my resignation in order to start the constitutional measures to form the 11th unity government.

I pray to God to help the Palestinian people achieve their aspirations in terms of freedom, return and independence, and we salute the martyrs and we wish fast recovery for the injured and we wish the release of the heroic prisoners soon and accept our best regards.

Your brother Ismail Hanieh, the Palestinian PM,
Muharram 27, 1428 Hijri
February 15, 2007"

The following is the full text of the letter of commissioning from President Abbas to Hanieh:

"Based on the authorities vested in us and towards achieving the public interest, we issued the following:

First Article:
Accepting the resignation of Mr. PM Ismail Hanieh.

Second Article:
The resigning PM and the members of his government shall exercise on a temporary basis their works as a caretaker government until the formation of the new government.

Third Article:
Mr. Ismail Hanieh shall be selected to form the national unity government.

Fourth Article:
All competent parties each within its jurisdictions shall implement the provisions of this decree which shall be effective as of the date of its issuance and shall be published in the official gazette

Issued in the city of Gaza on February 15, 2007

Annex to the letter of commissioning

First Article:
We commission you to form the next government within the period set in the Basic Law which are three weeks with an additional period of two weeks.

Second Article:
After concluding the steps to form the government and presenting it to us, it will be presented to the PLC to get the vote of confidence.

Third Article:
We call upon you as PM of the next government to abide by the higher interests of the Palestinian people and preserve their rights and maintain their accomplishments and develop them and work on achieving their national goals as ratified by the Palestinian National Council resolutions and the articles of the Basic Law and the National Conciliation Document and the Arab Summits resolutions.

Based on this, I call upon to respect the international legitimacy resolutions and the agreements signed by the PLO.

May God bless you and guide your steps for the good value."

Published at Al Quds NewsPaper on February 16, 2007