About a month ago, we exclusively reported here on the threat of Mazen's associates towards Jibril Rajoub; Close associates of the PA president threatened Rajoub that his blood would be on his head if he did not accept Abu Mazen's decision to place Hussein al-Sheikh as his successor. Jibril Rajoub remained silent and waited for the right opportunity to respond to the threat. This week, journalist Einav Halabi (ynet) quoted Rajoub's words to the Palestinian radio Al Alam, as saying "This is the time for soul-searching among all Palestinian factions, including Fatah, regarding the relations we want with Israel." In these words, Rajoub was criticizing Abu Mazen's administration, since the security coordination with Israel is attributed in the Palestinian public to Abu Mazen and his administration, and to his associates in Fatah. This is in terms of defiance towards the Muqta'a, that Rajoub does not intend to vacate the place for A-Sheikh in accordance with the threats against him, but on the contrary, he intends to build a place for himself in the general Palestinian leadership, the one from whose position it is possible to criticize all the players, including Fatah, Abu Mazen and A-Sheikh, Rajoub positions himself in this statement as someone who claims leadership after Abu Mazen, in complete contradiction to the instruction of Abu Mazen's associates to let go.