Esther Horgen, the Israeli mother of six killed in a suspected terror attack near her Tal Menashe home. Photo: Courtesy of the family.

Family, friends and neighbors were in mourning on Monday after Esther Horgen, a 52-year-old mother of six, was found dead in a forest near her home in the northern West Bank community of Tal Menashe.

Horgen never returned after going for a run on Sunday afternoon and her body was discovered overnight with signs of violence on it. Police are investigating a possible terror motive behind her death.

Horgen’s husband, Binyamin, recalled his wife as “so full of life and light and love for everyone, and all this was cut short in an instant.”

“There are no words,” he added. “Who could do such a thing?”

Rotem Hania — head of the Tal Menashe council — said, “This is a difficult morning for us. Our community is quiet and we live in peace with the communities around us. Esther was an artist and a couples counselor. A happy, smiling woman who left a good feeling wherever she went. Two or three times a week she went to work out in the nearby forest. The entire community, including the children, go there to run. This is a very unusual incident and we’re all very surprised at what happened.”

“They won’t break us,” Hania declared. “Our community is strong and united, and with all the difficulties, with God’s help, we will overcome.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “The late Esther Horgan was brutally murdered when she went out for a run near her home. The security forces will apprehend the murderer as quickly as possible and we will settle accounts with him. I would like to send deep condolences to the family.”