Olmert to undergo surgery for prostate cancer

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday announced he has prostate cancer and would soon have surgery, but said the disease is not life-threatening.

Speaking to a hastily assembled conference in Jerusalem, the Israeli leader said the disease was caught at an early stage and that he would have surgery “over the next few months”.

“I will be able to carry out my duties fully before the treatment and within hours afterward,” said Mr Olmert. “My doctors... informed me that there is a full chance of recovery and there is nothing about the tumour which is life-threatening or liable to impair my performance or my ability to carry out the mission which has been bestowed upon me.”