JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced yesterday that he has prostate cancer but that he will continue to govern and expects to be cured by surgery.
Olmert, 62, looking fit and speaking calmly, told a news conference that a biopsy had detected a malignant tumor in its early stage. He said he had learned of the diagnosis over the weekend and has chosen to undergo surgical removal of the prostate gland "in the coming months."
"My doctors have informed me that I have a full chance of recovery and there is nothing about the tumor that is life-threatening or liable to impair my performance or my ability to carry out the duties bestowed upon me," he said.
The disclosure came at a sensitive time in Middle East diplomacy, weeks ahead of a U.S.-brokered summit, aimed at restarting talks to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fighting in the Gaza Strip yesterday left three Palestinians and an Israeli soldier dead.
Olmert's condition is not expected to complicate the peace effort, his doctors said, because the tumor is confined to the prostate and is growing slowly enough for him to wait months for treatment without risk. "The growth was discovered at an early stage and is curable," said one of the doctors, Yaacov Ramon.
Miri Eisen, a spokeswoman for Olmert, said the operation would take place after the summit, which is expected to be held in late November or early December in Annapolis.
In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Olmert "to wish him a speedy recovery," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Leaders in Israel are not required to issue regular reports on their health, and they rarely speak publicly on the subject. But Olmert told reporters that "the citizens of Israel have a right to know" about his condition, and he brought two of his doctors to the news conference to answer questions.
Olmert took office in January 2006 after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered the second of two strokes and fell into a coma. Sharon remains hospitalized in a long-term care facility. Olmert was elected to the office two months later as head of a broad-based coalition anchored by his centrist Kadima party.
Israeli politicians across the spectrum praised the prime minister for his quick, forthright disclosure. But some coupled their get-well wishes with jabs at his shortcomings as a leader, indicating that his political survival is more in doubt than his recovery from a potentially fatal disease.
