Dude Carrying Gas Can, Hamas Book Arrested Near Rockefeller Christmas Tree: NYPD

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A man carrying a half-full can of gas, a pack of matches and a book called "Son of Hamas" was surrounded by cops Monday near the Rockefeller Center's famous Christmas tree between West 49th and West 50th streets, after a Fox News employee pointed him out to police, according to the NYPD.

Asked why he was lugging around a gas can, the man — identified by police as Yuriy Alterman, 38 — allegedly told police he "just wanted to buy gas."

"He didn't specifically deny he was going to set the tree on fire," an NYPD spokesman told Patch. "He just said, 'I don't have a car, I just bought gas from the station. I was just walking around the city and I just wanted to buy gas.'"

As he was being handcuffed at the scene, Alterman then said, "F*ck the police," according to the NYPD.

Alterman was arrested and charged with making terrorist threats, a police spokesman said.

However, the NYPD spokesman said he did not know what, exactly, Alterman had said to make police believe he was making terrorist threats. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office couldn't explain the charge, either, as Alterman had yet to be seen by a judge. (Meaning the criminal complaint against him was not yet available).

Hamas is the ruling political party in Gaza, a small Palestinian territory at war with Israel. The U.S. government considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization. The book "Son of Hamas," though, is an autobiographical account of life under Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef, a defector who served as a spy for the Israeli army and has since been granted political asylum in the U.S.

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.

Lead photo by Javier Guttierez Acedo/Flickr