Jerusalem ? Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israelis on Monday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but said the disease was not life-threatening and will not disrupt his work as the country’s leader.

The disclosure came at a sensitive time in Mideast diplomacy, with Olmert and another one-time prostate cancer patient – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – struggling to bridge gaping differences ahead of a U.S.-brokered peace conference.

Speaking calmly before a packed hall of reporters, Olmert said the disease was caught early and that he would have surgery “over the next few months.” Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the surgery would be done after the conference.

“I will be able to carry out my duties fully before the treatment and within hours afterward,” Olmert said. “My doctors … informed me that there is 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 mission which has been bestowed upon me.”