Jubilant crowds descended last night on Tel Aviv's Kikar Rabin to celebrate the election of Israel's next prime minister, One Israel leader Ehud Barak, who is seen as likely to revive Yitzhak Rabins peacemaking efforts with the Palestinians.

They waved Israeli flags, shouted, danced and sang after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu conceded defeat and congratulated Barak.

At 10 p.m. last night, when the exit polls came out showing Barak the clear winner in yesterdays elections, he was alone with his wife Nava, a few close aides and two helicopter pilots, flying over Beersheba.

With One Israel activists jumping up and down in excitement in the southern town he just left behind, and One Israel politicians gathered at the make-shift press center in Kiryat Shmona popping champagne, talking about a mandate for change and quietly discussing ministerial posts, Barak's spokeswoman sent out a message saying that One Israel calls on its activists to show restraint and to remember that the polls are only exit polls, and not real results. We all need to stay at the ballot boxes and guard every single vote....There is much hard work ahead of us tonight.

Despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's concession speech and the clear-cut results, as of press time Barak who headed from Beersheba to the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv to follow the results would make no official comment on the outcome. He was determined, said a close aide, not to make the mistakes of the 1996 elections, when all celebrations and pronouncements proved premature. His comments would be made, said his spokesman David Ziso, only after the final results were received.

Barak's American advisers, meanwhile, who spent most of yesterday at the Dan Hotel, drinking coffee, monitoring the early exit polls and briefing the foreign press, were in an ebullient mood. They admitted they had known it would be a landslide all day.

Jim Gerstein, a key member of the advising team, said early in the day he would not be at all surprised if Barak won 60 percent of the vote once all the ballots were counted.

As the evening wore on, and the results began sinking in, more and more One Israel supporters made their way to the Tehila Halls in Kiryat Shmona, singing, Ehud, king of Israel, dancing madly and clapping their hands wildly.

Meimad's leader Rabbi Michael Melchior, finishing up the evening prayers in the corner of the hall, had this to say: This is a great victory for us and for all of Israel. Barak succeeded in bringing down the walls of hate and we go forth from here to a united future. Barak will be the leader of all of Israel.

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