Israel's Olmert delays plans for cancer op: report

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has decided to postpone surgery for prostate cancer after doctors advised him that there was no urgency for an operation, Israel's Channel Two television said on Tuesday.

Olmert went public with his early stage cancer in October, saying it would require a minor operation but that the procedure was not urgent and would allow him to continue governing.

A spokesman for Olmert's office said no date had been set for the operation.

Channel Two said Olmert had sought the advice of a number of medical experts, including during his visit to the United States for last month's Annapolis peace conference.

When he originally made the announcement that he had been diagnosed with cancer, Olmert's doctors said the surgery would require him to take a short leave of absence probably lasting a few days.

Earlier this month, Channel Two said Olmert provisionally planned to have the operation in late January after the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush -- his first as U.S. president -- to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)