I do understand very well what Van Cleef means, but I unlike him I do think it is interesting to make CC maps of politically charged regions (see my Caucasus map
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22031), as long as the existence, rights and struggles of all peoples it engulfs are respected on the map. In this earliest draft that is not the case, since Gaza, Westbank and Golan are represented as integral parts of Israel, thus sparking Van Cleef's anger.
I think it could be interesting to place this map in a wider historical and geopolitical context, and include parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The continent bonuses could then be set to represent the political cases: Syria (incl. Golan), Egypt (incl. Sinai and Gaza), Jordan (incl. Westbank), Palestinian Authority (Gaza and Westbank), Israel 1948 (excl. Gaza, Westbank and Golan), Israel 1967 (incl. Gaza, Westbank, Golan and Sinai), Israel 1979 (incl. Gaza, Westbank and Golan), some kind of Jerusalem bonus, Lebanon, Lebanon under influence of Syria (extra bonus), etc.
I use this sytem of overlapping bonuses in my Caucasus map, a region also riddled with several overlapping territorial claims and aspirations. Besides the system of overlapping bonuses will ensure ongoing battle, keeping the game interesting throughout (in contrast to games where everybody is slowly building up first). I haven't seen this sytem on any other map, and nobody has given any feedback on it. Instead people are indeed only going on about the way a map LOOKS.