By Reuters Last update - 08:51 13/01/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055098.html

A U.S. military plan to ship munitions from a Greek port to a U.S. stockpile
in Israel has been canceled due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the
Pentagon said on Monday.

The United States Navy's Military Sealift Command issued a tender on
December 31st for a ship to deliver 325 standard 20-foot containers of
ammunition on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the
Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January.

Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Greek port
had been considered as a possible location from which to transfer ammunition
from a larger ship coming from the U.S.

But the request to shippers had now been canceled due to safety concerns at
the final destination related to the conflict in Gaza, Ryder said. Israel's
military offensive in the Gaza Strip seeks to halt rocket fire by Hamas
militants aimed at southern Israel.

"The trans-shipment ... via the Greek port of Astakos will not take place,"
Ryder said.

"I can confirm that the U.S. munition shipment has been delayed and that
EUCOM (U.S. European Command) is developing an appropriate course of action
to deliver the items to the U.S. stockpile in Israel," he said.

"I have no information to provide on timelines or possible routes for
obvious reasons of operations security."

The Pentagon said on Friday the shipment was intended only for the U.S.
stockpile and not to provide ammunition to Israel, a close U.S. ally and
major buyer of U.S. military equipment, for the conflict in Gaza.

The U.S. military hired a commercial ship to carry a much larger consignment
of ordnance in December from the United States to Israel. Ryder said that
shipment was also for the U.S. stockpile in Israel.