BETHLEHEM - The director-general of an Algerian television channel on Monday presented the Palestinian Ambassador in Algiers with a collection of archival records from the channel's coverage of the Palestinian struggle for independence, a statement said.

"These historical documents conclude the Palestinian revolution since the 1970s until this day. They include a set of films and tapes produced by Algerian TV and its coverage of the Palestinian revolution," director of Algeria TV Tawfiq Khaladi said in a statement.

Khaladi handed the archival footage to Palestinian ambassador Abed al-Khaliq Hussein, adding that the tapes included Arafat's famous 1974 UN speech which took place while former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was the UN general assembly president.

"The documents include one of the first meetings of the Palestinian national council in Algeria in 1988. There are 82 tapes consisting of 85 hours of footage. I think it is important to submit these documents to the PA as they record the history of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation," Khaladi added.

Algerian communications minister Nasser al-Muhol welcomed the symbolic exchange, adding that the Algerian government has always supported the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.

PA ambassador Hussein thanked Algeria for its support, calling on Palestinians to preserve the documentation of their struggle against occupation.